#38 - Memorial Day 2017

I was watching CNN this morning, and they were previewing pictures of Arlington National Cemetery, ahead of the planned ceremony where President Trump would lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the images of the rows of identical tombstones reminded me of an experience I had over 40+ years ago.

I backpacked through 11 countries in Europe for six weeks with a friend after I graduated from college.  It was a wonderful trip, despite the fact that we slept in youth hostels and did our best to scrimp by on $15 a day.   And while specific memories definitely do fade after 40+ years, the most striking memories have nothing to do with Europe of centuries past but, for me, still stand head and shoulders above the rest.  The first was our visit to Dachau, the location of one of the German concentration camps.  To say that it was a stark reminder of evils some men commit against others is an understatement.  As you leave the memorial there, it is hard to speak.  The second was our visit to the cemeteries in Normandy, where rows and rows of beautiful white crosses seem to drift on for as far as the eye can see.     All equal in size and shape, the whiteness standing out cleanly against the pristine green lawn.  Knowing the history of that sacred ground, you can’t do a thing to hold back your tears.     For me, the memory of my visits to Normandy and Dachau represent the most appropriate bookends to any visit to Europe.

The CNN segment this morning included an interview with Lt. General Mark Hertling, who spoke of the memories of some of the soldiers who died serving under him in Afghanistan.  The topic shifted to today’s professional military where less than one percent of those who are eligible to serve, choose to do so.    Host David Gregory asked Lt. General Hertling what those who have not served could do to better connect with those who have served.   The General responded that people always thank him and other members and veterans of the military for their service, but he tells them to instead honor those we honor today, and instill their memories in our daily life and make this country better.

So, in my small way, I thought I would take a moment to write and remember the fallen Allied soldiers in Normandy on June 6, 1944 and the week that followed, and to remember my father, my uncles, by wonderful father-in-law, all of whom served in WWII.  They rarely spoke of their experience, and they never boasted, despite the fact that there collective actions clearly made the world a better place.  They just served.