Memorial Day

I just woke up.  It is almost 9am here and I just got out of bed.  That doesn’t happen anymore, but thanks to my kids having a day off from school that aligned with one of my days off from work, I got to sleep in.  I also was excited as I woke up because I had a day to work on Plasma Frequency, and my own writing, without having to stop for the multiple school schedules of my kids.  Of course the real reason for all this is because of Memorial Day.

Memorial Day summons thoughts of barbeques, American Flags, parades, festivals, and generally speaking fun.  But Memorial Day is something much stronger than that.  This is a day to remember those who paid the ultimate price for their service to our country.  And there are many of them.  Over the years there are those American that sign up to serve there country.  The reasons they signed up are not relevant, but what is important is that they did sign up.  They signed up to do something many people avoid.  They put on a uniform and go out to some of the most remote, war torn areas of the world.  They sign up for countless days, months, and years away from their families.  They sign up to spend many sleepless nights on watch.  They sign up to come home and see their children grown, their spouse age, and their hometowns changed. Their lives seemingly frozen in memory, only to find the world went on without them.

Yet if you asked many of these men and women, they’d tell you they are the lucky ones.  They got to come home while so many others didn’t.  For me, Memorial day is about honoring those that didn’t come home.  Those that paid for my freedom, freedoms I use everyday, with their lives.  Those that had the courage to do something I couldn’t do, sign up.

I am a huge fan of military history and military fiction.  There is something about the idea of these everyday people becoming heroes.  Unfortunately these men and women are often unsung heroes.  So on Memorial day, please hang your American flag, enjoy your barbeque, take time with your family, but please remember to honor those heroes.