Retelling Their Memories Keep Them Alive

Over the past few years, the identity of “a hero” has rightly expanded to embrace a wider community. CNA’s, Nurses, Doctors, etc. take care of our medical concerns. Refuse Collectors, Water Treatment Plant Operators, Food Inspectors are public servants that directly impact all of our lives on a daily basis. Then, Volunteers: coaches, mentors for various programs, all good people that donate their time for good causes, etc… the list goes on and on. Never miss an opportunity to share stories with friends and acquaintances about heroes you have encountered in your life’s travels. Another group of individuals with a distinctive classification that impact all American’s, warriors of our Armed Forces/Military.

Mention the military and people do one of three things: 1) Intently engage 2) tune completely out or 3) meander through the conversation and see where it goes. Most people are in categories 1&3

Given that today is Memorial Day, please take a moment to remember our nations fallen warriors that died while serving in our armed services as a way of showing our respect for the sacrifices they individually made to ensure our individual protection. Memorial Day is a holiday that can be difficult for people to understand and they often confuse it with Veterans Day. The way to distinguish the difference between the two holidays if on Veterans Day we honor all (living) warriors that served in the United States Armed Forces and Memorial Day we honor the warriors that died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

There are around 19 million U.S. veterans as of 2021, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs, representing less than 10% of the total U.S. adult population. Chances are someone in your family has served in the military at one point or another.

If you have friends or family that are buried in a veteran cemetery the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) has developed an online tool that will allow you to locate a service deceased service member (CLICK HERE). According to their website, “The VLM is an online memorial space managed by the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)… Currently, VLM offers a digital memorial space for Veterans memorialized in VA National Cemeteries and most of the 120+ VA grant-funded tribal, state and territory Veteran cemeteries.

Full disclosure, I am a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and currently volunteer as a member of the rifle team that provide 21-gun salutes for deceased warriors. Over the first 5 months in 2022, I have been uniquely situated to have witnessed and/or participated in 5 traditional funerals or celebrations of life. The individual stories about their lives are strikingly similar. They all laughed, cried, had good days, had a few not so good days. Some warriors served short enlistments and others served the equivalent of a lifetime (two to three decades)… every little bit helps to secure our nation. They served to protect all of our citizens from enemies. Some have known the horrors of war and lived until it was their time. The pattern began to unfold like a flower for me: The memory of a person’s life will continue to metaphorically carry on as long as the last person who remembers them continue to share stories about them.

I implore you to participate in a Memorial Day celebration and share your personal stories of a fallen warrior that you personally know. At the end of the day the veterans of our nation deserve to have their stories retold to keep their memories alive.

As always, if you enjoyed this blog, hit the like button. Also, please share on social media, with friends, etc. because we have to get the word out. Let all of the good people (wherever you are across America) communicate with one another and come back together.