A Memorial Day unlike any in living memory. No parade, no marching band, no families waving from street corners and driveways and front porches, no speeches at the Veterans’ Memorial on Maple Ave. No listening crowds, no walkers to Park Cemetery, no trumpets echoing “Taps” from hidden locations. The unofficial opening event of the Summer revealed a world, a nation and a community unlike any seen before.
It was available online, a video production for the Village of Garrettsville and the surrounding community by Ben Coll, but it was not “business as usual” for anyone. All the same, the village maintenance crew, and the Boy Scouts who placed the flags on veterans’ graves did themselves and the community proud in their care for both cemeteries–Park and the Pioneer Cemetery on Maple Ave. Grass was cut and tended, markers tidied, service emblems cleaned, trees trimmed. Utmost respect was evident across both venues. Those who served could be remembered by family and by passers-by in settings of solemnity and beauty, which are the cornerstones of the very reasons for the observance of Memorial Day, to honor the individuals who have served to defend this country, even to the “last full measure of devotion”.
The ceremonies on Monday were not as we might have wished, not as we have been accustomed to, but all are free to visit the cemeteries–the traditional date for Memorial Day was actually May 30, until 1971–to pay their respects, look for familiar names…or unfamiliar ones, and think on what those flags mean, then and now.
Thomas Paine, in “The American Crisis” (1776) wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Does this ring any bells…Liberty or otherwise, for the current situation?
It was on a cold November day–unlike today–that Abraham Lincoln delivered what has become the quintessential speech of memorialization in American history. Its opening words, beginning with–”Four score and seven years ago…” gave a brief reference to the nation’s history and founding principles. The second paragraph moves to the painful present and the purpose of the gathering : “Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether….” Hark to that word…Testing…testing…testing.
We are, today, in the midst of testing as well. We remember those who gave their all in service to our country. The markers and memorials scattered throughout the cemeteries in the community attest to the regard in which we hold these heroes.
But there are other warriors now and we must acknowledge their service as well, people on the front lines of our conflict against an invisible foe. Their battles are more nearly silent, their victories more fragile and more human. We see their uniforms as our own. We live and die in their battles at home and in distant lands. There are military confrontations; there are struggles of the spirit. We fight on.
We here today say, as we often do, “Thank you for your service,” but keep this in mind : If you want to thank a soldier, be the kind of American worth fighting for. Be someone who takes civic responsibilities as seriously as rights. Be someone who is an informed voter, not merely a persuaded one. Be someone who recognizes the rights of others. Be a generous, contributing member of the community. Be one who supports the often-unnoticed providers of service and care. Demand integrity in public and community service. Respect the contributions of others. Be leaders at every level.
We honor those who have stepped up at considerable personal risk to lead and protect our country; we memorialize them with these observances, we revere their sacrifices at home and around the world.
In this current battle, as in the conflicts which we have waged and triumphed in before : Support the fighters.
Admire the survivors. Honor the taken.
And Never give up.
