Honoring Those Who Gave The Ultimate Sacrifice
Showing posts with label Memorial Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Memorial Day. Show all posts
Sunday, May 24, 2026
Monday, May 27, 2024
Monday, May 29, 2023
Memorial Day
Friday, May 26, 2023
Sunday, May 29, 2022
Memorial Day Remembrance
Sacrifice is the theme of Memorial Day. The sacrifice of individuals. The sacrifice of families. The sacrifice of communities. The sacrifice of a nation. Memorial Day is a time when America’s war heroes reminds us of the price for freedom. John Quincy Adams once said, “You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.”
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. It is often said to be the ultimate sacrifice. Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966. Although, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of this day.
Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor the dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war).
Memorial Day is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363). Sadly, while there were many parades to honor our past heroes, few homes and businesses displayed the American Flag. Let’s hope patriotism is still alive and flourishing in our great country and take pause during the barbecues, beach-going, shopping and relaxation to remember those who have fallen for us so that we can have so much. May God bless them.
Sunday, May 30, 2021
Memorial Day – If They Could Speak ...
By Arthur H. Gunther III
No Memorial Day, USA or elsewhere, is without heartfelt words and tribute, parades, wreaths, re-mourning. What is missing are the voices of the fallen. Would that we could hear them. What would they say?
“Mom, I was as scared as you, but I could not show that with you there. So I never really said ‘goodbye’. ...”
“Dad, you told me about your ‘war stories,’ and I figured we’d swap them when I came back. ...”
“Mary (any sweetheart’s name), I was crying inside when you were showing tears, and we both felt that we had been pulled from our door to the future so that I could enter another, for a time. ...”
“Mr. Gram (any teacher’s name), I know you expected me to be the same distracted fellow day-dreaming in the back row, but I was really awake that final day, and I remembered you telling me to pay attention. It helped my pals in the squad, the ones who survived. ...”
“Mayor Jones (any public official), there are speeches every Memorial Day, and parades and gun salutes and tears and then the barbecues, fireworks, leisure. Understand that all this is fine with me. I’d be there, too, if I could. But also believe that the man who fell next to me, the ‘enemy,’ isn’t one for me any longer, and he has mourners, too. ...”
“I read the ‘Red Badge of Courage’ in Miss Rouy’s literature course and could not understand then the fine line between courage, the chance of it, the millisecond for choice, and the instant when cowardice could win. I thought it was black and white but now understand it is not really so, that military training and society’s expectation may of necessity set it up as clear choice, but in the moment of decision, there is fear, opportunity and the possibility of both heroism and cowardice. There is much more humanity to it. ..."
"It is for humanity that I am ‘gone,’ the hope of it anyway. I am not truly ‘gone,’ of course, since I have not died in vain. The sacrifices of any of us, dead or living, are for betterment, for that continual ‘thirst’ for the world’s possibilities. Otherwise, why did you all lose me? ...”
The writer is a retired newspaperman.
-30-
Monday, May 25, 2020
Memorial Day: Remembering Those Lost
Memorial Day, a U.S. federal holiday, is observed on the last Monday of May to honor the men and women who have died while serving in the military. God bless them all and may they rest in peace.
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Happy Thanksgiving
During the Thanksgiving holiday, some of these same family and friends are critical of businesses who remain open either on Thanksgiving Day or the day after, feeling sorry for the workers. Many of those friends and family who are complaining voted in this last election. Some exhibited a certain glee when their candidates won.
Were they re-elected or newly elected? If re-elected, they are the ones for the most part that have slowly been increasing taxes, fees, penalties, fines, insurance requirements, maternity and paternity rights and other regulations on businesses to mention a few, that all cost these same businesses a lot of money whether they remain open or closed. In effect, these policies are forcing them to remain open so they can pay all of the above (and others surely missed) because all a store can do to make money is to be open and hope shoppers come in and spend their money. Besides, on non-holiday days, these same “victims” are making $15/hour because of newly passed laws by politicians who should not try to force businesses to do or not do something such as regulate pay. The employees are probably now being paid time and a half or double-time by law for working holidays.
If a store like Walmart remains open, they are branded as the big, bad, greedy conglomerate beating up their employees. Or are they? Most get a holiday rate of pay to work on a holiday as well as benefits for even part-time employees. Granted, not all do, but again, politicians have passed laws requiring them to pay out the wazoo. And what of the person who works there simply because they need the money? It has to be a two way street requiring a little give and take. Having spoken to Walmart employees in Cortland, Oneonta and other locations and asked if working there was as terrible as the media likes to project, the answer has always been, "No."
While these same family and friends like to knock Walmart or any other big store for being open, I wonder if they have worked in a retail store environment to see what it is like? Probably not. But that's okay, you're still entitled to your opinion and can protest by not going shopping at Walmart on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday or any other day.
Just remember, there are a lot of other people working on Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and other holidays besides the Walmart staff. And, like the retail staff such as those at a Walmart or Macy's or Home Depot, they rely on their jobs by having shoppers come and spend their money there. How is it that these same people and politicians have no issue when retailers are open on Labor Day, Memorial Day or any other holiday?
In that respect, there are other workers beyond the obvious retail stores working on the holidays too. People like correction officers, dispatchers, firefighters - including volunteers, police officers, emergency medical personnel, hospital workers, military and more. Should they get the day off also? Our guess is most if not all would say, “No.” Hypocritical? You decide.
So while the headlines might grab your attention by bashing Walmart, and others, because it's easy, remember that their employees are our friends and neighbors and you may be affecting their livelihoods with your protest. Then, when Walmart closes shop such as recently happened in White Plains because it cost too much to be there with theft, parking and traffic, lack of profits, taxes, regulations, etc., it's a little too late to lament when and why they pulled out of the neighborhood. People complained when they were moving in and then they complained when they announced they were leaving. You can't have it both ways. So, instead of getting on your “high horse” and condemning retailers for staying open, realize that many are just trying to stay in business and this time of year can be a make-or-break time for them. Support your local retailers, big and small and instead of demanding they close for the day. Let them run their business. Don't like that? Then don't shop there on that day. They'll get your message.
We need to support our businesses as much as we ask them to support us through donations we ask of them. Just like our businesses are approached almost daily to support our Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, our Little Leagues, School Sports leagues, the Drama Club, the Chess Club, the fire department, police department and so on. The list of groups and organizations seeking donations from local businesses large and small can be staggering. And if they say, “No!” what then? Do you stop patronizing them? We hope not. We hope that you understand the bind they are in. Again, we need to support them as much as they do us. It's the only way to get A Better Greenburgh.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Monday, May 29, 2017
Sunday, May 29, 2016
Memorial Day Remberence
On this Memorial Day weekend, we remember those who sacrificed their
lives for “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Our thoughts
and prayers are with all those who are grieving. May we, as Abraham
Lincoln famously said, “highly resolve that these dead shall not have
died in vain–that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of
freedom–and that government of the people, by the people, for the
people, shall not perish from the earth.”Please watch this tribute: Just A Common Soldier
Monday, May 25, 2015
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the theme of Memorial Day. The sacrifice of
individuals. The sacrifice of families. The sacrifice of communities. The
sacrifice of a nation. Memorial Day is a time when America’s war heroes reminds
us of the price for freedom. John Quincy Adams once said, “You will never know
how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make
good use of it.”
Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day. It is a
day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of
America. It is often said to be the ultimate sacrifice. Waterloo N.Y. was
officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson
in May 1966. Although, it’s
difficult to prove conclusively the origins of this day.
Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to
honor the dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John
Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The
30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or
otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their
country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every
city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of
Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary
of any particular battle.
On the first Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a
speech at Arlington National Cemetery, and 5,000 participants decorated the
graves of the 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New
York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The
South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days
until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who
died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any
war).
Memorial Day is now observed in almost every state on the last Monday
in May with Congressional passage of the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90
– 363). Sadly, while there were many parades to honor our past heroes, few homes and businesses displayed the American Flag. Let’s hope patriotism is still alive and flourishing in our great country and take pause during the barbecues, beach-going, shopping and relaxation to remember those who have fallen for us so that we can have so much. May God bless them.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Celebrating Our Service Members This Memorial Day
You may find one or more of these charities listed below appealing to you and worthy of your participation. Not sure what you can do? We've highlighted two worthy charities below. Regardless of your choice, you can make a difference either financially or in person.
Please click on a link and follow your heart with your wallet. If you lack funds to donate, many will welcome your time and energy if you can. We have the ability to do so much for so many right here in our own backyard as we celebrate this and every Memorial Day. God bless our troops, their families and America.
Two charities that help our veterans:
Soldier Socks
1127 High Ridge Road, 124 Stamford, Connecticut 06905; Tel - 203-832-2005
Fisher House
Fisher House Foundation, Inc., 111 Rockville Pike, Suite 420, Rockville, Maryland 20850; (888) 294-8560 or (301) 294-8560; Fax: (301) 294-8562
info@fisherhouse.org
info@fisherhouse.org
Fisher House Foundation is best known for a network of comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment.
During our research for a list of charities that help our military personnel, we found this page with an incredibly long list of charities for the military:
If the links below do not work, please go directly to the link above and link to the charity of your choice from there.
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