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Memorial Day 2020

  

Category:  News & Politics

By:  kavika  •  4 years ago  •  79 comments

Memorial Day 2020



Memorial Day 2020 will be different than any other Memorial Day. There will be no parades or large gatherings. America and the world are fighting a different battle today. 

But in our hearts we honor those that gave their lives in defense of our country. These brave men and women are our brothers and sisters. Lest we forget. 

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Kavika
Professor Principal
1  author  Kavika     4 years ago

ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICS 

 
 
 
devangelical
Professor Principal
1.1  devangelical  replied to  Kavika @1    4 years ago

Thank you for publishing a non-partisan remembrance and memorial to those Americans that made the ultimate sacrifice for the benefit of generations to follow. An article written and made more powerful by an American that actually put their own life on the line to stand shoulder to shoulder with those that sacrificed their own futures to ensure the futures of everyone else. It's an honor and privilege to call you a friend.

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
1.1.1  1stwarrior  replied to  devangelical @1.1    4 years ago

IN case anyone thought Memorial Day was about picnics or a day at the beach.

384

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
1.1.2  Sparty On  replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.1    4 years ago

Heartbreaking!

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
1.1.3  1stwarrior  replied to  Sparty On @1.1.2    4 years ago

Reality.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
1.1.5  Sparty On  replied to  Kathleen @1.1.4    4 years ago

Yep, I squirt a few annually this holiday.    Seeing reactions like that does break your heart.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
1.1.6  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  devangelical @1.1    4 years ago

Amen!

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
1.1.7  1stwarrior  replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.1    4 years ago

Did you know - 

384

I didn't either.  Respect.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
1.1.8  Sparty On  replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.7    4 years ago

Wow, new one on me as well.  

Thx 1st

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
1.1.9  Trout Giggles  replied to  1stwarrior @1.1.1    4 years ago

That's very sad

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
1.2  Raven Wing  replied to  Kavika @1    4 years ago

A beautiful tribute to those who have given their all for their country and their loved ones. A tribute that honors those who so loved their country that they laid down the most precious thing they had, their life, to help protect those they loved, and also those they did not even know.

Thank you for this great tribute to allow us here at NT the chance to express our thanks for their making their selfless ultimate sacrifice.

May Ye ho waah watch over them as they move on to the next steps of their own eternal journey, and may they find the lasting peace they so truly deserve.

nv-wa-do-hi-ya-dv (Peace)

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
3  1stwarrior    4 years ago

In memory of my Dad, some/many uncles, cousins, aunts, and the many military friends/partners I've had and known.

Ft. Leavenworth, KS - 28,000 interred.

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RIP - Job well done.

Semper Fi.

 
 
 
Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom
Professor Guide
5  Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom    4 years ago

Forever grateful to the ones who have given their lives standing in between us and those who would harm us.  Still miss my brother every single day.  jrSmiley_93_smiley_image.jpg MSSA xxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx lost from the USS xxxxxxx 9 January, 19xx.

 
 
 
devangelical
Professor Principal
5.1  devangelical  replied to  Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom @5    4 years ago

that's why I have lots of reasons for a love/hate relationship with this holiday. while any type of war is usually a necessary activity to defend ourselves, our allies, and most of the rest of the world at one point or another, we need to remember those that sacrificed their lives left behind others, the families of our nation's most precious resource. they share on a much more personal level the loss of a life not fully realized. their own ultimate sacrifice to our nation, the loss of a loved one for our nation, unique loss of a part of their own lives.

it seems as though it's getting easier and easier to find people that have been personally affected by the horror of war(s). unless you yourself have been personally affected, any measure of sympathetic words generally fall well short of the mark. what can you say to someone that lost a person so close to them without hurting them even more. what should you say to someone that must carry this personal grief every day for the rest of their lives. there is nothing, except that I did not know him, but thank you, for what he and your family did for my family, and every other American family. in our history as a nation, so very few Americans ever give so much to attain that revered level of honor and stature, and your family shares that. I'm very sorry, and most sincere thank you.

 
 
 
sandy-2021492
Professor Expert
6  sandy-2021492    4 years ago

Our deepest gratitude goes to those who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe and free.  You will not be forgotten.

Thank you for posting, Kavika.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
8  Perrie Halpern R.A.    4 years ago

One day I am walking through an antique store looking for a picture frame. I came across these two frames made of oak, which is what I was looking for, but when I took a look at what was inside the two frames, my heart sank. Both frames held a war memorial to Alphonse Natalie, who died in the "Great War" One was from the US, hand signed by Woodrow Willson and the other from France, where he died, signed by the French president Georges Clemenceau. I took the frames to the dealer who knew me well and asked him how much for the frames. He told me, for you, nothing so long as you make me this promise. This boy died for our freedom and has no one to remember him. You need to restore the oak frames and hang them in your home so that he has a family to remember him. I understood this since I was raised by a vet of two wars, and I made him the promise. 

I had the frames restored and we hung them in our house and although we have moved four times since, Alphonse has always had a place in our living room as one of our family members.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
8.1  author  Kavika   replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @8    4 years ago
Alphonse has always had a place in our living room as one of our family members.

Respect and thank you for doing this.

 
 
 
Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
8.1.1  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Kavika @8.1    4 years ago

I forgot to post the certificates. 

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Kavika
Professor Principal
8.1.2  author  Kavika   replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @8.1.1    4 years ago

Thank you. 

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
8.2  1stwarrior  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @8    4 years ago

You are, indeed, an honorable person - thanks Perrie.

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
8.4  Raven Wing  replied to  Perrie Halpern R.A. @8    4 years ago
Alphonse has always had a place in our living room as one of our family members.

Thank you for your deep felt respect and kindness for Alphonse. May he also represent the many others who have no family to remember and/or thank them for the ultimate sacrifice they made for all those they have never met.

Thank you. There can be no greater respect shown.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
9  Ender    4 years ago

512

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
10  author  Kavika     4 years ago

512

I have this photo framed and hanging in the den. I've entitled it, ''The Sentinal'' 

He walks in the footsteps of his ancestors. 

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
11  Ender    4 years ago

15 Things You Never Knew About Memorial Day

Let's remember the meaning and history of the federal holiday.

The last Monday in May

Memorial Day celebrations will be a little different this year. Whether you typically spend the day at the gravesides of fallen soldiers or cracking open a beer on the beach, the holiday will be spent at home this year, with those you live with or even alone. Maybe this year can serve as a reminder as to why we even have a day off at the end of May in the first place. We can set up chairs on our front porch or back deck, enjoy the sun with our favorite barbecue foods, and remember those who fought for our freedom.

It had a name change

When the first versions of Memorial Day were celebrated after the Civil War, the event went by the name   Decoration Day , when flowers were laid on graves.

It was initially designed just for the Civil War

For more than 100 years, Memorial Day was reserved for honoring the lives of Civil War soldiers. The holiday didn’t   expand   to casualties of all American wars until after World War I. In 1971, it was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress.

Its birthplace causes a hot debate

About   two dozen towns   across the United States claim they were the first to celebrate Memorial (or Decoration) Day. The U.S. government gives Waterloo, New York, the official “birthplace” title, though there were informal celebrations before the village’s May 5, 1866, event.

Freed slaves celebrated Memorial Day

On May 1, 1865—less than two weeks before the end of the Civil War—newly freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina,   held a ceremony   reburying fallen Union soldiers with a proper burial. Even though it came before the Waterloo event (and many other decoration days), experts don’t consider it the first Memorial Day because it didn’t directly lead to the federal holiday.

The date was chosen for its weather

Most experts believe Major General John A. Logan planned the first Decoration Day for May 30, 1868, because Northern and Southern states  would have flowers   in bloom by then, though others believe the date was ideal because it   didn’t coincide   with the anniversary of any battles.

The first Memorial Day was just as big as today’s

In 1868, about   5,000 people   decorated graves at Arlington National Cemetery’s first Memorial Day ceremony. About the same number of people still gather there annually.

It wasn’t always on the last Monday of May

Until 1971, when Memorial Day became an official federal holiday, the annual commemoration stayed on May 30, no matter what day of the week. Once the   Uniform Monday Holiday Act   passed, it lined its official date up to the day of the week: the final Monday in May.

The flag shouldn’t stay at half-staff all day

Federal   guidelines   say the flag should be displayed at half-staff only until noon, then go up to full-staff until sundown.

"Taps" started as a goodnight song

During the Civil War, a U.S. general thought the bugle call signaling bedtime could use a more melodious tune, so he wrote the notes for “Taps” in 1862. Another officer later used the bugle song   for a funeral , fearing the traditional firing of rifles might sound like an attack. Now, “Taps” is a traditional part of Memorial Day celebrations.

A poem inspired the poppy tradition

During World War I, Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote the poem " In Flanders Fields ." Inspired by the poem’s image of red poppies scattered through cross-shaped grave markers, American Moina Michael and France's Anna E. Guerin started selling artificial poppies as a fundraiser for children affected by the war.

Bikers hold a demonstration

On Memorial Day in 1988, about 2,500 motorcycles rode through Washington, D.C., calling the government to account for prisoners of war and those missing in action. By 2017, the annual   Rolling Thunder First Amendment Demonstration Run , which brings awareness to forgotten Vietnam War veterans, had grown to about   900,000   riders.

Some states have their own Confederate memorial days

Southern states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina plan their own   Confederate Memorial Day   (or in the case of Texas, Confederate Heroes Day) on various dates, depending on the state.

It is required by law to observe a National Moment of Remembrance

Congress passed   a law   in December of 2000 that requires Americans to pause at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day to honor the fallen soldiers. For most people, this law isn't common knowledge since typically people are indulging in hot dogs and beer on the beach at this time, but maybe this year, since the celebrations will be altered, we can take a moment to respect those who fought for us.

The BBQ tradition isn't just a modern one

The tradition of celebrating Memorial Day with a barbecue actually began with having a picnic lunch at the burial sites of fallen loved ones. The day has always been honored with food.

There are   a lot   of veterans

Forty-five million   veterans have served our country during wartime. As of last year, there were a projected 15 million living wartime veterans in the United States. While the holiday is typically an excuse for a day on the beach instead of in the office, there are so many people still walking among us today that we should salute.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
11.1  Ender  replied to  Ender @11    4 years ago

I didn't know that about three pm.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
11.1.3  Split Personality  replied to  Ender @11.1    4 years ago

President Bill Clinton

  • President Bill Clinton signed the act into law on December 28, 2000, and noted, “The observance of a National Moment of Remembrance is a simple and unifying way to commemorate our history and honor the struggle to protect our freedoms.”.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
11.1.4  Sparty On  replied to  Ender @11.1    4 years ago

Neither did I.    

In my family this day has always been a day to honor all the fallen.   Military or otherwise.    A day to attend services that honor military fallen and freshen up other family plots.

Its strange, more often that not Memorial Day is usually a dreary, rainy day here.    We usually get wet.     It seems fitting ....

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
11.3  Raven Wing  replied to  Ender @11    4 years ago

Thank you for posting this, Ender. It is something some of us never knew.....or something some of us have forgotten.

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
12  Ender    4 years ago

512

 
 
 
JohnRussell
Professor Principal
13  JohnRussell    4 years ago
They remembered brave men advancing as if “walking in the face of a real strong  wind,” in Forrest Pogue’s image, all affecting the same tight grimace until whipcrack bullets cut them down. Above the battle din they remembered the cries  of comrades ripped open, merging at moments into a single ululation described by  the BBC reporter David Howarth as “a long terrible dying scream which seemed to  express not only fear and pain, but amazement, consternation, and disbelief.”
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And  they remembered the shapeless dead, sprawled on the strand like smears of divine  clay, or as flotsam on the making tide, weltering, with their life belts still cinched.  All this they would remember, from the beaten zone called Omaha.
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The Guns At Last Light, the war in Western Europe
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by Rick Atkinson
graves_at_normandy-P.jpeg
 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
14  Ender    4 years ago

512

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
15  Sparty On    4 years ago

Rest easy brothers and sisters, we have the watch

Semper Fi

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
16  author  Kavika     4 years ago

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
16.1  Raven Wing  replied to  Kavika @16    4 years ago

So very beautiful and heart warming. Thank you for sharing this with us, Kavika. My ancestors have fought in every war in America since the Revolutionary War. They never fought to save the lives of the Europeans. They fought to save the land they held sacred, and the lives of those they loved.

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
17  Greg Jones    4 years ago

kn052220dAPR20200522014633.jpg

 
 
 
Steve Ott
Professor Quiet
18  Steve Ott    4 years ago

My father-in-law when he was stationed in Yokohama, 1945 I believe.

512

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
18.1  A. Macarthur  replied to  Steve Ott @18    4 years ago

Steve,

Check your PRIVATE NOTES.

A. Mac

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
19  1stwarrior    4 years ago

384

 
 
 
Raven Wing
Professor Guide
20  Raven Wing    4 years ago

384

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
21  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

I have at least one photo of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument opening in Indianapolis in 1919. Going through my database and will post it and any others that will fit in this thread.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
21.1  author  Kavika   replied to  A. Macarthur @21    4 years ago

Looking forward to seeing them Mac.

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
22  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

Sit tight, I restored have more than I remembered … will post them as I find them in my backup drives.

original

I believe the arch began to fall apart a year or two after it was erected.

© A. Mac/A.G.

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
23  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

Finding them …

original

© A. Mac/A.G.

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
24  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

One more … others to come.

original

© A. Mac/A.G.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
24.1  author  Kavika   replied to  A. Macarthur @24    4 years ago

Those are great photos, Mac.

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
24.1.1  A. Macarthur  replied to  Kavika @24.1    4 years ago

I'll post more in the morning.

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
24.2  Sparty On  replied to  A. Macarthur @24    4 years ago

That really is one of the more impressive monuments in the US.    Worth a visit to anyone who hasn’t seen it.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
25  Buzz of the Orient    4 years ago

Leonard Cohen recites 'In Flanders Fields'

Listen to the late great poet read Lt.-Col. John McCrae's signature Remembrance Day poem

tumblr_mw4baeSyXn1qa4wgqo1_500.jpg

Memorial Day, wherein memories and thoughts are the same as Canadian Remembrance Day, when for two minutes everything and everyone in Canada stops and is silent - at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month..... 

From Wikipedia:

Armistice Day (which coincides with Remembrance Day and Veterans Day, public holidays) is commemorated every year on  11   November  to mark the Armistice of  11   November  1918 signed between the Allies of World War I and the German Empire at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month".
 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
26  author  Kavika     4 years ago

In a small town in northern Minnesota, there is a huge weeping birch tree with a small bronze plaque that simply says.

Monroe Graywolf W.........

A Rendezvous with Destiny. 

The tree was planted after WWII in honor of my cousin, Monroe Graywolf W.......who was KIA at the Battle of Bastogne, December 24th, 1944. 

General Lee, commanding general of the 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles) in a speech to the troopers of the 101st a new unit, before they left for Europe.

''We have no history but we have a rendezvous with destiny''. 

Yes they did. Their heroics at Bastogne is now part of history. 

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
27  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

Additional imagesoriginal

© A.Mac/A.G.…

original

© A. Mac/A.G.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
27.1  author  Kavika   replied to  A. Macarthur @27    4 years ago

Was the top photo one of the ''glass'' ones that you were able to work with?

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
27.1.1  A. Macarthur  replied to  Kavika @27.1    4 years ago
Was the top photo one of the ''glass'' ones that you were able to work with?

It is as are the first three I posted … and I have more to come.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
27.1.2  author  Kavika   replied to  A. Macarthur @27.1.1    4 years ago

Great

 
 
 
Ender
Professor Principal
28  Ender    4 years ago

Last year they dedicated this memorial.

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Biloxi unveils Gold Star Families Memorial Monument
The 58th Gold Star Families Memorial Monument is unveiled during a dedication ceremony at Guice Veterans Memorial Park in Biloxi, Mississippi, Nov. 23, 2019. The monument honors families of service men and women who sacrificed their lives while serving in the military. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)
 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
29  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

My editorial comment …

original

© A. Mac/A.G.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
30  author  Kavika     4 years ago

I'll be away for some time. I've locked the article and will reopen when I return.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
31  author  Kavika     4 years ago

Veterans Park, Ocala FL.

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Monument to the Navajo Code Talkers, Veterans Park, Ocala Fl. 

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Perrie Halpern R.A.
Professor Principal
31.1  Perrie Halpern R.A.  replied to  Kavika @31    4 years ago

You have an amazing memorial park, Kavika. Ocala does it proud!

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
31.2  1stwarrior  replied to  Kavika @31    4 years ago

384

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
31.3  Sparty On  replied to  Kavika @31    4 years ago

An awesome tribute!

Semper Fi

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
32  author  Kavika     4 years ago

A monument to Native American, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians warriors will be dedicated on Veterans Day, 2020. (pandemic permitting) in Washington DC. 

Native American Veterans Memorial coming to Washington

By
  Lauren Monsen
  -
Nov 6, 2019

A permanent tribute to Native American military veterans will soon take its place in Washington, a city known for memorials to those who have played important roles in   U.S. history .

Native Americans   have served in each of America’s military conflicts since the Revolutionary War, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. The National Native American Veterans Memorial, now under construction, will be situated on museum grounds on the   National Mall . It is expected to be unveiled at the end of 2020.

Artist and military veteran Harvey Pratt, a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, submitted the winning design for the memorial. His concept, titled   Warriors’ Circle of Honor , was chosen from among 120 submissions.

The new memorial will feature a huge stainless steel circle mounted on an intricately carved stone drum, with a flame ignited at the circle’s base on ceremonial occasions. The circle — a fixture in   Native American storytelling   — suggests the cycle of life and death, and the continuity of all things.

nnavm_rendering_2_0.jpghttps://staticshare.america.gov/uploads/2019/10/nnavm_rendering_2_0-300x169.jpg 300w, 768w, 1024w, 696w, 1068w, 747w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" > This rendering of Harvey Pratt’s “Warriors’ Circle of Honor” design offers a sneak preview of what the National Native American Veterans Memorial will look like at dusk, with visitors present. (Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian)

Pratt’s vision also incorporates four arcing benches facing the circle sculpture, where visitors can gather to share stories of their loved ones’ military experiences (or their own).

The benches will be surrounded by a red brick walkway, with four symmetrically spaced lances jutting skyward. Lances are a traditional emblem of military courage, but these symbolic weapons will serve an additional purpose: Visitors are invited to tie prayer cloths to them.

As for the stone drum that supports the steel circle, it’s meant to convey the constant pulse of Native American spirit and sacrifice across the breadth of U.S. history.

The National Museum of the American Indian estimates some 140,000 Native American veterans are alive today, plus about 31,000 Native Americans and Native Alaskans now serving in the U.S. military.

These men and women are “perfectly aware” that they are serving a country that has not always kept its commitment to Indians, “and yet they chose — and are still choosing — to serve,” says the museum’s director, Kevin Gover (a member of Oklahoma’s Pawnee tribe). “This reflects a very deep kind of patriotism. I can think of no finer example of service to the United States and the promise it holds.”

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Principal
32.1  Sparty On  replied to  Kavika @32    4 years ago

Awesome, congrats!  

I will gladly visit  and pay my respects when its done.

 
 
 
A. Macarthur
Professor Guide
33  A. Macarthur    4 years ago

original

Hot Springs, South Dakota, 1915; I believe this to be the only such photograph that exists anywhere. I restored and digitized the image from a glass slide.

© A. Mac/A.G.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
33.1  author  Kavika   replied to  A. Macarthur @33    4 years ago

Amazing photo.

 
 
 
pat wilson
Professor Participates
34  pat wilson    4 years ago

Great article, Kavika !

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
34.1  author  Kavika   replied to  pat wilson @34    4 years ago

Thanks, pat.

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
35  Trout Giggles    4 years ago

Thanks for the remembrance article, Kavika and for reminding all of us what Memorial Day is all about.

 
 

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