In my childhood we called it Decoration Day and it was an important celebration that we marked in the streets with parades and in the parks with rousing speeches, recalling the heroes who, on one field or another, had given their lives for our country. Today it is called Memorial Day. May we never forget those who lie beneath the white markers, from the youngest–the one little known–to the one highly acclaimed and honored. To their families today, I say a sincere thank you, for that one you have offered up so that my children and my grandchildren and I may yet reach into uncommon opportunities and glory in our rare and costly freedoms.
- Mary McHugh mourns her slain fiance Sgt. James Regan at the Arlington National Cemetery May 27, 2007, Memorial Day weekend. Regan, a U.S. Army Ranger from Long Island, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq in February, and this was the first time McHugh had visited the grave since the funeral. When he died, Regan was on his fourth combat deployment – twice in Afghanistan and twice in Iraq.
Source: Getty Images John Moore
Edit Monday 9:30 Thanks to Dale White who on my Facebook account sent the image of the markers and the children I posted just above here, and the following information:
The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute).The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom. It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans.
Shirley Buxton 