Memorial Day is the time to honor all those Americans who
died in service to the United
States for their independence and
liberty.
As I have
posted in previous years, Memorial Day often gets conflated with Veterans Day,
which is the holiday to honor all veterans, living or dead, particularly those
who did not die in service. Note: Armed
Forces Day, which is celebrated the Saturday a week before Memorial Day, honors
active duty servicemen.
And as I have also posted, Memorial
Day is not a day of celebration, but a solemn commemoration of those who made the
ultimate sacrifice for America . Alas, the day has become for too many
Americans a festive occasion, as people wish each other “Happy Memorial Day”
and use the three-day weekend in late Spring which has become traditionally
regarded as the “unofficial start of Summer” to picnic and engage in other
recreational activities, instead of setting aside the day as one of mourning,
albeit in gratitude to those who gave their lives for the U.S.
Memorial Day has been observed in
late May since after the end of the Civil War, while Veterans Day is celebrated
on November 11. That date formerly was
Armistice Day, which commemorated the end of the First World War. The difference between observing a holiday on
the last Monday in May versus a fixed date is that between a three-day weekend
versus a holiday that may occur on a weekday in the middle of the workweek,
which makes the latter less conducive to travel and recreation. Furthermore, the observation of Memorial Day
in late Spring is more conducive to a more festive occasion than a holiday
observed in mid-Autumn.
I propose switching the observation
of Memorial Day with that of Veterans Day.
As Veterans Day honors living veterans, it should be a more festive
occasion and could be celebrated accordingly on a three-day weekend in late
Spring, whereas Memorial Day ought to be more solemnly observed on mid-Autumn
at a fixed date less conducive to festiveness, as it may occur at
mid-week. Late May is as appropriate a
time as any to honor veterans while November 11, the anniversary of the end of
the First World War, is a particularly appropriate time to commemorate those
who died in service. Switching the
observation of these two holidays would allow for their observation to be more
patriotic and appropriate than they are currently observed.
May we recall today especially the
sacrifice of those who died for America
and strive every day to preserve the independence and liberty that is their
legacy. May God bless America .
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