the rix mix

What I hope for from the Iraq & Afghanistan wars, because they've gone on for so long & reached so deeply into communities through multiple deployments of National Guard & Reserves, is a resurgence of nonpartisan patriotic observances & displays, a grassroots renewal of Memorial Day & 4th of July. When soldiers deploy, serve,. & return as units, they are given respectful sendoffs & welcomed home with celebration, with family, friends, & loved ones gathered together. Perhaps their recollection of a proud homecoming will inspire these younger vets & their families to participate in local parades & ceremonies, maybe even restore The Gold Star Mother to her honored place.

Memorial Day morning was a large & touching event in my small town, with a parade through the downtown's crowded sidewalks to the Doughboy Monument, & a solemn placing of wreaths, Of course, my parents' generation had fought WWII & Korea, & they were not about to forget their sacrifices, & in particular the sacrifices of their comrades who did not return home, whose names were engraved on the monument. The 4th of July was more than midsummer retail sales & huge televised big city fireworks. But it is Memorial Day, I think, when we most need to find again the balance of solemnity & celebration that entire towns shared together, because they had shared the sacrifices. This why the original Memorial Day caught on after the Civil War, & why the day was so significant when I was a child.

photo from Star-Ledger, 5/25, Fort Dix NJ.

Labels: holidays