What does Memorial Day mean to you?

Memorial Day is a day for all of us in the USA to pay our respects to those service members that gave their lives in the service of our country! Many times during this holiday I have had people thank me for my service and I have to explain to them that Veteran's Day is for me. This holiday is for those that never came home. I love being thanked for my service, but this isn't my holiday! I am alive and doing okay. I am lucky that I do not personally know anyone that was killed in action. I give thanks frequently to those whom gave their lives to keep me free!

Memorial Day is a day of rememberence of those brave soldiers, airman and sailors that have given the ultimate sacrifice to maintain this great countries freedom's. It is a day to pay tribute and to celebrate those lives. Such proud man and woman that beckened to the the call of their country. Never forget these brave individuals, keep them always by your side.

May God Bless these men and woman. God Bless the United States Military and God Bless The United States of America.

Memorial Day has always been a very important day for myself and my family...for over 25 years my father coordinated the memorial day festivities in our local community...dedicated his life both as a 20 year enlisted man, 35 more years in the American Legion, 40/8, VFW...sat on the state & national boards for all three, gave scholarships for high school students, and made sure the families of the fallen received their flag and benefits...I have been and continue to be a part of this train of thought ever since I was 7-8 years old...part of my family tradition was to remember those who sacrificed so much for the freedoms that I take for granted sometimes...I am and will always be grateful for the impact my father made on me over the years and for the importance he placed on the American Flag and those who sacrificed their lives so that I can enjoy my freedom!

Every year on Memorial Day, I go to the Veteran's Memorial Cemetery and stand at the grave of John Lukac, namesake for VFW Post 12093. In the afternoon, we attend a service at Palm Cemetery at the Veterans Memorial. I don't go shopping for Memorial Day deals. I don't celebrate the "unofficial start of summer". I honor those who have gone on before us.

Silence falls across the meeting room at the Dine in as we recognize the table, everyone knows about the table:

The tablecloth is black, symbolizing the darkness and mourning we felt as our brothers fell in battle…

The tablecloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms…


The single rose in the vase reminds us of the families and loved ones of our Comrades-in-Arms who keep their memories alive lest we forget…

The red ribbon tied so prominently on the vase, is a reminder of the blood shed to protect the liberty so loved by our country…

A slice of lemon is on the bread plate, to remind us of their bitter fate…
The spilled salt on the bread plate is symbolic of the families’ tears as they learned of their loved ones fate…

The white candle symbolizes the purity of those comrades who fought for our nation…
The glass is inverted; they cannot toast with us this night…

The chair is empty; he is not here…

Remember, all of you who served with them and called them comrade, who depended upon their might and aid, and relied upon them, for surely they have not forgotten you.

It is our hope this night, that with pride and honor, they will hear us as we toast their ultimate sacrifice to their Country’s call to arms.”

As Quoted from http://www.military-quotes.com/forum/dining-out-page2-t42074.html

Memorial Day is not just another Veterans Day. This day is meant to remember the fallen. Honoring veterans any time of the year is ok and it is nice to recognized, But Memorial Day Brings back memories of friends and fellow soldiers that have fallen. God Bless America

It is always different for us- we aren't trying for the mega off sales, the 3 day weekend, etc.. For me it is a time to remember and cry/muse on the 14 officers, peers and troops I lost while in service- the 3 cousins we lost within months of each other in 68 (SVN). A time to remember all the Gold Star families I have met while in the PGR. Let them have their fun- our folks died to keep them save and to be able to do what they want. We didn't serve for their honor, but ours, and as long as we remember OUR people, they will live on in our hearts.

My whole family is military, my father had 5 brothers 2 are still alive all military except one of the remaining, my deceased Brother retired navy. Those are my immediate thoughts, I ride for the Patriot Guard Riders and escort heroes on their last ride all the time and meet the families of those that stood for us in our time of need. I think of the thousands that died in the many wars from the time of declaring our independence until now. I weep when I think of the lives lost in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan because our government will not trust our Commanders to do the job and saddle them with ROE that prevent the winning of the war. Our politicians have no experience in combat but think they can tell the military how to fight. I weep for the lives lost and the families mistreated by the VA and the system while our PC government is trying to help the LGBT and border jumpers. I could go on and on........ but I have tears in my eyes now

Sorry I'm 6 days late with this, but anyway, here's a copy-and-paste of what I wrote on my Facebook page on Memorial Day:
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Memorial Day 2015 musings: as several of my fellow veterans have already rightfully pointed out on Facebook, while Veterans' Day is the day to thank living vets for their service, Memorial Day is for the purpose of honoring the servicemembers who did NOT come home, those who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. In other words, it is NOT a "Happy" day.

With that in mind, I'm fortunate and blessed insofar as none of my relatives (USMC Dad and USN paternal-side cousin in WWII, USN maternal-side cousin who served from 1972-1992) or my personal friends from my own service years (USAF 1999-2006) died in the line of duty (and this in spite of 9/11, OEF, and OIF, mind you).


So, with no such personal connection to a battlefield KIA, I suppose I could simply dedicate this Memorial Day to all U.S servicemembers who fell in the line of duty.

But while I certainly respect all their sacrifices, that's a bit too vague, generalized, and generic for me. I want to personalize the dedication somehow, so as a USAF Security Forces veteran, I would more specifically like to dedicate this Memorial Day to all Air Force cops (whether they officially wore the label of Air Police, Security Police, or Security Forces) who gave their lives in the line of duty.

Many of them, including A1C Elizabeth Jacobson, are memorialized in the commemorative photo montage that currently serves as my FB Cover Photo. Others, like TSgt Robert Butler and Sgt. Louis H. Fisher, are not shown in it.

Sgt. Louis Harold Fisher deserves a particularly special mention, IMHO. You see, not only did he and 4 other Combat SPs die bravely while fighting off an attempted NVA invasion of Tan Son Nhut Airbase during the Tet Offensive on 31 Jan 1968, but in his honor, the Sgt Louis H Fisher Award is presented to the Top Graduate of the USAF Security Forces Academy Apprentice (enlisted) Course at Lackland AFB, TX. I'm proud to say that back on 4 February 2000, I was the recipient of the Sgt Louis H. Fisher Award.

So then, (1) to all American servicemembers who gave their lives in the line of duty, (2) especially my Air Force cop brethren past & present, (3) more particularly Sgt. Louis Harold Fisher, I dedicate this Memorial Day. Rest easy, brothers and sisters, RIP, God bless, and HOOAH.

What it means to me is simply put... while my weekend was very fun, I devoted the whole weekend to all those who gave their lives for us. I flew my flag on my bike over Hoover Dam along with 1200 other veterans, motorcycle clubs, and just patriots. We then proceeded to meet at the Boulder City Veterans Memorial cemetery to pay respects, and to attend a tribute to the green barets. I then paid my utmost respects to our fallen by attending a ceremony up in Las Vegas. Reality set in as I sat and listened to a man who served as a transport driver on the beaches of Normandy. His words struck a nerve as the real accounts are far more gruesome then tv or movies have portrayed. He was such an inspiring man and so sharp for a 91 year old.
I served 20 years in the greatest Air Force in the world, but with all my experiences, and all the wonderful and awful places that I survived, his generation was the toughest! He started his story like this...
I was walking into lowes and noticed that the rotc was outside doing some fundraising. He walked up to a young man and asked how old he was... the boy said 14... he then asked what this young man what he know about Normandy? The boy looked at him and simply said I have no idea... the 91 year old vet was disturbed by this and asked their LT what is happening with kids today? She said that they just skipped over that part.

Now how would you feel if that was you? Kids don't know what our predisessors and fourfathers went through for us. So what does Memorial day mean to me? It means not BBQing, boozing, or asking for a military discount. It means not saying Happy Memorial day...because that seems disrespectful. It means kneeling down and thanking our fallen for giving us the freedom we have today... but it also means teaching others that by not knowing the past it dooms us to repeat. God bless America!

For me, I think this poem captures my feelings:

DIRGE FOR TWO VETERANS.

THE last sunbeam
Lightly falls from the finish'd Sabbath,
On the pavement here, and there beyond it is looking,
Down a new-made double grave.

LO, the moon ascending,
Up from the east the silvery round moon,
Beautiful over the house-tops, ghastly, phantom moon,
Immense and silent moon.

I see a sad procession,
And I hear the sound of coming full-key'd bugles,
All the channels of the city streets they're flooding,
As with voices and with tears.

I hear the great drums pounding,
And the small drums steady whirring,
And every blow of the great convulsive drums,
Strikes me through and through.

For the son is brought with the father,
(In the foremost ranks of the fierce assault they fell,
Two veterans son and father dropt together,
And the double grave awaits them.)

Now nearer blow the bugles,
And the drums strike more convulsive,
And the daylight o'er the pavement quite has faded,
And the strong dead-march enwraps me.

In the eastern sky up-buoying,
The sorrowful vast phantom moves illumin'd,
('Tis some mother's large transparent face,
In heaven brighter growing.)

O strong dead-march you please me!
O moon immense with your silvery face you soothe me!
O my soldiers twain! O my veterans passing to burial!
What I have I also give you.

The moon gives you light,
And the bugles and the drums give you music,
And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans,
My heart gives you love.