Return to the ‘respect and remorse’ purpose of Memorial Day

We need to rethink our Memorial Day parade, even though it’s been canceled. COVID-19 has already killed more Norwalkers than World War I and almost as many as the 22 killed in World War II. The victims of the pandemic did not die in the service of their country, but too many may have died by the disservice of their country, a story for another time.

When I was a kid, everyone called May 30 “Decoration Day,” from the days when families placed flowers on the graves or memorials of those who died in battle. Gradually, the holiday became a more festive occasion, and its original purpose of mourning became lost.

Like most American towns, Norwalk celebrates it with parades of veterans, high-school marching bands, and recently, even commercial floats. In my opinion, instead of honoring those who gave their lives fighting their country’s battles, it belittles their sacrifice.

Imagine the circumstances of their deaths. Beset with terror under enemy fire, they saw the mangling of friends and comrades. Those who died instantly were lucky compared to those who died after agonizing wounds. Animals are butchered “humanely” in slaughterhouses, but those we honor on May 30 died in the inhuman abattoir called war. There is no greater stress. Commemorating their deaths calls for an appropriate recognition of their sacrifice.

What would a meaningful commemoration look like? Like President Kennedy’s funeral cortege. A pair of caissons. A rider-less horse with boots backward in the stirrups. High-school drummers beating the death tattoo. Relatives. Veterans. Other mourners. Only in this fashion can spectators grasp and reflect on the enormity of the sacrifice that these dead have made for their country. What is proper for a fallen president is proper for fallen neighbors. Only in this way can we honor them year after year and never forget them.

Let us pull out the stops next year and celebrate the Fourth of July with joyous parades, not just fireworks.

But let us strip away the accumulated tinsel from Memorial Day and lay bare its solemn essentials: the respect and remorse that is at its very heart.

Scott Kimmich Norwalk