In the days leading up to this holiday, I’ve been pondering those who never make it home because they were standing in the gap for my freedom and gave their very life to make sure I have it today.
A quick search will turn up all manner of stories from those soldiers—from WWII to present day, they are all heart stirring.
Pap raised my brothers and I to fully understand that our freedom didn’t happen without great loss.
He chose to sing patriotic songs and in our local area was often asked to sing them with his brother for Memorial Day and Veterans Day events.
One of the most popular uploads on our Blind Pig and The Acorn YouTube channel is “Tear Drops Falling in the Snow.” The song is a real tear-jerker, but is perfect for the somber feelings I have today. You can go here to listen.
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Thankful to all in service who gave their lives for freedom.
No soldier gave his life! It was taken from him!
No soldier lost his life! It was stolen from him!
Who was his enemy? The man who shot him down or the man who sent him to war?
Why do old men send young men to fight their battles?
Christ shed his blood for all mankind. Why is that not sufficient?
I don’t have the answers! Christ does!
My second oldest brother served in WWII with the 45th Infantry Division. He was at Dachau just days after it was liberated while bodies were still stacked on railroad flat cars and people were still living in the camps. He turned 19 a couple of months later. Charles died too young at 38 due to cancer. Three other brothers served in peace time. The greatest regret of my life is that I did not serve.
Thank you to all veterans, living and dead. My life has been blessed by your service
I was around 6 years old when I recall someone coming to our door to inform my mother that my father was killed at the Battle of the Bulge. Jan 11, 1945. My mother had to deal with this very difficult situation and still continue raising 5 children. All across this nation during that dark time many families were receiving that “knock on the door”.
I live in Columbus, Mississippi & this town claims to be the originator of Memorial Day. We have many antebellum homes & right after the civil war ended, ladies of the town gathered at the Twelve Gables antebellum home & then went to Friendship Cemetery to put flowers on Confederate & Union graves. Today you can still see rows after rows of both Confederate & Union graves. Columbus’ Friendship Cemetery dates back to the 1800’s & my dad is buried there. My dad fought in World War II & many of his friends did not make it back. A pause today to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom. I do think they would be heartbroken to see how our country is doing now May you all observe today in your own way (hopefully with family) & be safe.
My wife and I just returned from a Memorial Day observance. It was deeply moving. Always is. I encourage you to attend one next year and take some youngsters. They need to understand.
I’m a grown Army Brat. I learned long ago and frequently repeat, Freedom Isn’t Free.
To all of the veterans who gave their lives, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service and sacrifice and for the ones who made it back home, God bless you. You have a strength and a story about what you went through that no one can imagine. We all have family members or know folks who fought and lived to tell about it and others who didn’t get the chance to. I hope our younger generation will not forget.
well said, Tipper. i agree…
isnt today also “Decoration day” here? cleaning of cemeteries and putting flowers and dinner on ground n singing in some places? i know on lake fontana they take family by boat to cemeteries. couldnt remember if it was today or another day soon.
I wish more people could identify with the sacrifices that have been made over the years by our brave men and women in uniform. They somehow got past all the fear and loneliness to stand up and defend our liberty and way of life, not something that should be just taken for granted. Thank you for the post and the beautiful and unique music.
Yeah, that was a real tear-jerker but I’m glad I listened.
It’s my understanding that Decoration Day originated in the south in the 1860s. The church were my grandparents cemetery are buried in NC still has there observance in the first of June ( I think it was June 3rd originally).
I recall a combat veteran coming to speak to a general assembly at our high school about 1970. His message was to recognize and appreciate the ‘little things’. He said in combat conditions it was not big things they thought about but things like a bath, an ice cream cone, a letter from home. It evidently made an impression because I remember it still. I know Pap taught you all the same and I know the lesson took. From whatever source, I have always tried to practice gratitude. Just the fact that those who have risked all are the best ones to teach the rest of us to ‘count our blessings’ is itself instructive. They are witnesses to the truth of Ecclesiastes and the gospel.
BP&A is about that very same. We readers appreciate that about you all and are grateful. We need each other’s help to ‘keep our chin up’. You do that, most often – I think – without a deliberate intention. It’s just an expression of what you were taught.
For each of the veterans who read this – thank you. I am not a veteran so am not of your fellowship of experience; that ‘band of brothers’. Yet because of that I know that separation distances you somewhat from folks like me who have never been there. I understand that is one kind of price you still pay. Today I remember. I stand aside. This is your day.
Paul, I am reminded to of having read somewhere that one of the reasons passenger trains declined after WWII was sad memories. Too many partings happened at the train stations, too many last glimpses of those going away never to return. I can easily believe it. I’m sure there must be ‘train songs’ about that very thing.
Yes, this is a day to say thank you to those who lost their life so that we remain free today. So many people take this freedom for granted and even abuse sometimes in my opinion, but we are a free nation. How long will it remain is anyone’s guess with the state of our nation and the world as a whole, but my prayer is our next generations will come to appreciate the sacrifices made. To those families who have lost loved ones fighting for freedom I say thank you.
You mentioned letters from home. Getting packages and letters from home was like Christmas Day and shared with everyone: passing around jars of hot peppers and jerky (it had to be food that would keep — our mail chased us and would usually catch up in about three weeks).
Letters that weren’t private were read aloud; they contained local and national news, hometown gossip, and we still laugh about the funny stories that Bogie’s Uncle Pink would send him — even the small, every day routines of home were a salve to the ache of missing our loved ones.
The importance of writing letters to military service members cannot be stressed enough.
Memorial Day always reminds me of the uncle I lost in WW II. He was a mountain boy from Long Creek, in Oconee County, SC. Killed in action 15 July 44. I visited the Normandy cemetery when I was in service and got pictures of the gravestone. He was with the 29th Division on D-Day.
A big ‘Thank You” to those who gave their all that we may be free here today!
I had never heard this song before so I googled the lyrics. The words are so heart touching. So many of our mothers and fathers have had this same horrible experience. Many have never gotten the bodies of their loved ones back which to me is much worse. We owe so very much to our service men and women. War is a terrible thing for everyone involved. God Bless our military, past , present and future ❤
If that song does not give you chills, I am not sure you really listened to the words and the value of harmonizing. Your family has a talent that so many search for and never quite master it. Have a Blessed Memorial Day and reflect on what we have as a nation, our freedom and the ones that gave their life so we can.