This holiday has lost most of it’s original meaning: to honor the war dead.   Instead it is seen as a day off work and the official start of summer fun.   I decided this Memorial Day to plug into the traditional.  The old cemetery sponsored an event, so I went down to check it out.  They had re-enactors of the various wars, starting with the original war for independence.

Then there was the frontier regiment honoring a comrade who fought in the Spanish-American War in Cuba.

 

Then there were guys portraying WWII soldiers.

I did not take a picture of the guys representing the German Army.   One of them explained that the army was not necessarily in favor of Hitler’s policies, but the sight of the swastikas totally creeped me out.

The military sections include both persons who died in combat and persons who served in the military.

The crowd that gathered was interesting, old veterans, currently serving military, young people, bikers, survivors and me.   My father was a combat veteran, and it certainly impacted his life.   It was a beautiful tribute and not just a day of barbecue and beer.  Then I went home and quilted a quilt top made for the Lori Piestewa Center (the first Native American woman killed in Iraq) on the Hopi reservation.