Well, it’s the last Monday of the month of May in 2024. And that, of course, means it’s Memorial Day. The day Americans take time to remember fallen and injured men and women who served our country in the military.
Here’s some history behind this last Monday of the month.
I read this in an article this morning:
“Americans began to recognize Memorial Day in 1868, and the country established it as a federal holiday in 1971. Originally known as ‘Decoration Day,’ the holiday started with communities coming together to decorate the graves of those who died during service.
After the Civil War, Americans across the nation began holding tributes in the spring, decorating graves with flowers, reciting prayers, and honoring the estimated 620,000 fallen soldiers of the war (2% of the population at the time). Some records show that formerly enslaved people in Charleston, South Carolina organized the earliest Memorial Day commemorations in 1865. And in 1866, the federal government declared Waterloo, New York, the official birthplace of Memorial Day. That’s when the city closed all businesses so residents could decorate the gravesites of soldiers with flowers and American flags every year.”
Regardless of how it got started, the sad news is these days there sure doesn’t seem like as much respect given to the people who sacrificed lives for freedom. So, I’ll share this poem I wrote on the last Monday of May over 10 years ago to pay my respects.
Soldiers, Angels
Soldiers, angels walkin’ through the green grass
Underneath the blue skies,
Singin’ soft lullabies,
And they carry baubles made of brass.
Soldiers, angels hikin’ up the high road
Lookin’ for the heart light
Gotta make it start right
Now because they have a heavy load.
Soldiers, angels have left us a tutorial
On how to skip mistakes
Like everybody makes…
Then we build a sad memorial.
Soldiers, angels…one becomes the other
Takin’ on a new role
And up goes the death toll.
Why can’t every man just love his brother?
Soldiers, angels…we can’t live without them
Paying for our error
Till God stops this terror…
And that’s why I wrote this poem about them.
© 2013
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