Today is Memorial Day. It is best known for being a 3-day Holiday weekend in late May. Memorial Day was started by Union army veterans of the Civil War when they placed flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.
The meaning of MD has evolved over the years to become the three-day weekend first and foremost, signaling the unofficial start of summer, then a day of memoriam for soldiers and for the deceased in general including friends and family members.
My brother Bryce died in a Air Force training accident in 1975, no other immediate family member within 3 generations has died while serving in the armed forces. My father served as a naval aviator in WWII.
The day my brother died is the worst day of my life. My family life immediately fell apart due to mom's alcohol abuse. Remembering those times is a mixed blessing. There were many negative events that happened during those dark days along with many positive events in my life as I progressed through high school from a sophomore to a gradating. I miss the dead family members that I knew and loved.
I am grateful for all the good times and wisdom they bestowed upon me when we were together. Today I will celebrate life in memory of the dead who passed before me including family members and those that died in service to our country so that we remain a free country.
I felt good knowing that yesterday, the American Legion in Gordon, Nebraska placed a flag and a poppy on the grave of my great grandfather, who spent four years in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War. I found out just last week that he was a bugler.
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