Memorial Day is an American holiday, observed on the last Monday of May, honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
I believe that beside Christmas, Good Friday and Easter, for American Christians Memorial Day should be the most important holiday of the year. It is a day that we should remember and honor those who made the major sacrifices to preserve our important freedoms, especially our freedom of religion.
But for most folks the day just kicks off the summer season. Most celebrate by taking trips to the ocean or to the mountains or having picnics and family gatherings. A few will participate in small parades and patriotic services in cemeteries. In high school, each year I did the same with the Warwick High School band.
While I never had any relatives who died in the wars, several of my uncles proudly served. On my father's side, Uncle Marlin Derck and Uncle John Derck served during World War II. Uncle John served at Normandy and compiled a very lengthy and interesting handwritten diary of his experiences during WWII. We were with him twice on the anniversary of Normandy and he was quite affected by his memories. He could relate to us hour by hour what had happened that day. My Aunt Ellen told us that this was the first time that he had ever shared with anyone those experiences.
Later we led a hymn sing at Pinebrook on Veterans Day and we had another participant of WWII speak on his experiences. We invited other vets to attend and share. Many admitted that this was the first time that they had ever talked about these traumatic memories.
On my mother's side, three of her brothers served. Uncle Bud Wise and Uncle Sam Wise served in WWII while Uncle Richard Wise served in the Korean War. I remember the excitement when Richard returned but I never heard any of their stories, if they even shared them with anyone.
My father did not officially serve but he was chosen to teach the air force cadets at Susquehanna University during the early days of WWII. Then he was hired to work on the famous Manhattan Project in Delaware during the war. I now wish that I had pushed him to share more details of that experience but I imagine that he was sworn to secrecy about that.
Personally I don't have too many memories of the wars. I do remember about living through the blackouts during WWII. As a youngster they were rather scary times. I do remember my father taking me into Wilmington for the celebration the night that WWII came to an end. I didn't understand then all that it meant, but the actual celebration is still part of my memory.
Growing up I can remember the drills that we had in school, ducking under our desks to practice for an enemy invasion. Not sure what good those drills would have done in case of a real invasion, but we practiced.
While I was doing graduate work at Bucknell I remember sitting in my car listening to the radio as we entered the war in Vietnam. Many of my friends, relatives and classmates were called to serve there. It was a scary time not knowing what the future held.
I remember similar feelings the night that we invaded Iraq. We were serving in Awana that evening and one of our workers was the wife of one of the soldiers who was part of the invasion. Fortunately he was safe.
And so, on Monday, we will pause to remember and thank the thousands who have served and even given their lives. May we never forget them. And may we never forget those who are serving today. Thank you Lord. God bless America!
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