Friday, 22 May 2009
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Memorial Day
Serve.
Service.
To Serve.
These are all words similar in meaning and identical in importance. This week we will be thinking about the meaning of those words as related to a special day—Memorial Day.
Memorial Day was just another day on the calendar for me until an incident on a summer day in 1979. Carla and I had won scholarships to study at Oxford University in July of that year. That was our first time overseas and the experience was wonderful. As part of the cultural events of the summer, our group went by bus to another university city, Cambridge. As we were going back to Oxford, we stopped at an unusual place—the American cemetery outside of Cambridge. This was the final resting place of US soldiers who died in that area or who were recovered elsewhere and brought back there during the Second World War.
While looking at the names displayed on the wall inside the visitor’s center, Carla stopped at a name that was familiar. It was her uncle. No one in the family had ever known what happened to him, and they did not know that his name was inscribed in such a place. We took pictures and sent them back to family. It was a very emotional experience.
On that day, Memorial Day “happened” to me. I finally got it and I’ve never forgotten the lesson.
To those who have served or are still serving, the United States of America thanks you. The world owes you a great debt.
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