Memorial Day
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”—John:15:13
Today we celebrate Memorial Day. It is an American holiday observed to honor and remember members of our armed services who died in battle. The observance on the last Monday of May began after the Civil War and officially became a federal holiday in 1971. As I see all the flags on graves at Arlington Cemetery, I suddenly am profoundly moved. I have heard that the observance began with women putting flowers on the graves of more than 600,000 soldiers who died on both sides of the Civil War Conflict.
My husband and I have had parents and grandparents in our family serving in both great wars, and my husband served in the Navy in Vietnam. We have not known of family members injured or died.
I cannot imagine what it must be like to have a friend or family member die during a military action. This is a noble sacrifice for our country. The sacrifice by the one who died is also a sacrifice for those left behind, who will long for their presence for the rest of their lives. I say prayers for those who died and those whose lives were changed by their absence.
Sacrifice is not a word I like to consider in my life. However, whenever I visit the National Cathedral, I do try to find the stained-glass window honoring the Dorchester Chaplains: Lieutenants George Fox (Methodist), Alexander Goode (Jewish), Clark Poling (Reformed), and John Washington (Roman Catholic). They were chaplains aboard the U.S. transport ship Dorchester on a mission to Greenland in 1943 with 900 men when a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the vessel. The chaplains organized the evacuation effort, directed men into lifeboats, and handed out life jackets. When there were no more jackets, the chaplains gave their own to other sailors. The last image of rescued men was the chaplains on the deck linking arms and praying.
For the rest of the time I have, I hope to remember on each Memorial Day at least one person and their family who died in the war. In addition, I would love to hear the stories of those you remember that impacted your lives.
We must continue to remember the high cost of war and these tremendous losses.
Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/
This pandemic has been a time to remember how our lives, work, friends, and family will be different after this sacrifice that each of us has made to stay healthy, a greater sacrifice for some, and much more for others.