“What’s the different between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day?” I was asked by a Nurse Corps Veteran during my first week of co-op back in April. “Um. Uh,” I flubbed. “Memorial Day is for fallen soldiers and Veteran’s Day is for the ones who survived?”
I’ve learned over the past few weeks that this answer just scratches the surface of what Memorial Day really means. Memorial Day is a somber day to remember the soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. The holiday originated after the Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who lost their lives during the war and it was originally called Decoration Day. What I’ve learned from reporting on the stories from veterans and family members of fallen soldiers for my co-op over the past few weeks is that the definition of Memorial Day is far different then it’s meaning.
This month, I’ve written eight stories about veterans and currently serving soldiers, as well as spoken to countless veterans at the City of Philadelphia Annual Veterans Resource Fair and Drexel’s Memorial Day primer event. The veterans were humble and proud of their service. When I asked them what Memorial Day means many of them expressed that they think Americans are losing sight of what the day is for. Several of them lost family members, good friends and colleagues in war and said that they use the day to honor the memory of these people so their character and service would never be forgotten. It’s a personal day of reflection for the veterans. One of the best quotes I’ve heard over the past few weeks came from a Drexel Alumni currently serving as a Physician Assistant in the United States Air Force. “It’s about more than a Facebook shout out to those that serve. It’s a somber day that should honor not only those who have died for our freedom, but also the families that supported them along the way,” she said. “It’s not about beer and burgers, or a day on the lake… it’s about the men and women that died so that we can live with the freedoms we experience every day.”
Yes, there are antiwar activists in our country and that’s ok. It’s the right of every American to have their own opinion. But another thing I learned this past week is that these antiwar sentiments shouldn’t be taken out on our veterans and fallen soldiers. War is political. Some men and women currently serving in our Armed Forces weren’t even old enough to vote in the last presidential election. Memorial Day isn’t about the lamenting the war, it’s about our fallen soldiers.
This weekend I am going home to New York to see my family, and my brother who has served with the Marine Corps for four years and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. Yea, we’re going to probably have a barbeque and of course go to the local Memorial Day parade. But after the past couple of weeks, I am also going to make it a point to think about and remember our service men and women and the sacrifices they’ve made.
The theme of this year’s Drexel Memorial Day primer was “DU remembers, will you?” I will, and I hope you will too.