The meaning of Memorial Day
Throughout the nation, this Memorial Day looks and feels quite a bit different from in years past.
We’re not watching parades, hitting the beaches, or grilling and enjoying fireworks with our families and friends.
We all enjoy these hallmarks of the long weekend leading into summer, but we are facing a year where — as a nation — our heads are not turned the other way, heeding countless distractions instead of remembering the significance of what the day means to those who sacrificed, those who served alongside them and those families who survived them.
After years of bloodshed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and parts of Africa, we must be concerned that America has become increasingly numb to war. However, we must never forget that Americans are still fighting and dying so the rest of us can enjoy life’s most treasured moments.
There were 22 American service members killed last year in Afghanistan, but that figure doesn’t begin to describe those individuals, who can no longer speak for themselves. It is up to all of us to keep their memories alive.
Army Sgt. James Johnston, an explosive ordinance disposal soldier, was among those 22. He died last June, leaving behind a wife who was expecting their first child.
In March of this year, two Marines lost their lives in Iraq, battling Islamic State fighters in caves. On the day they died, Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo and Capt. Moises Navas were engaged in a fight so intense that it took six hours to recover the fallen special operations Marines.
Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent became the first female sailor killed in the fight against the Islamic State during a suicide bombing in northern Syria last year. The New York native was set to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology when she deployed to a combat zone for the fifth time.
Memorial Day is also for the families of the fallen who, when suddenly struck by unfathomable loss, continue to show courage, strength and resiliency in the face of truly unimaginable tragedy.
It’s especially important, during this time of isolation, that we honor the legacy of those lost by caring for those left behind.
The pain of loss is, at times, unbearable. Grief is a complicated emotion, manifesting in different ways for each of us. But it almost always helps to share that grief rather than keep it inside and let it turn our minds and souls bitter and angry.
Sometimes just sitting down to engage with veterans or their family members to talk can go a long way. Call. Email. Reach out online. However you choose to do it, keep connecting. I encourage all of you to find ways to involve yourself in caring for those who bear physical, emotional and psychological scars of war.
And moving forward through uncertain times, I challenge you to keep our fighting men and women in the front of your minds — today and every day.