This weekend America will celebrate Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a holiday that can be bittersweet for many people. I look forward to enjoying this long weekend.
It’s an opportunity to gather with family members, a time for reflection and visiting cemeteries to remember those who have passed on before us.
By going to the cemeteries, we can take time to pay respect to those loved ones, even if it’s but for a few moments.
My wife Pat and I for years have decorated graves at four different cemeteries in Shawnee and Oklahoma City. We go to Resurrection and Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City where both of my mothers, my dad, brother, two sets of grandparents, two aunts and an uncle were laid to rest.
At Resthaven and Fairview in Shawnee is where Pat’s dad, sister, grandmother and other relatives are buried.
Sometimes, just Pat and her mom will decorate the graves in Shawnee. Last year I joined them.
My biological mother has been dead for more than 70 years.
My dad was a World War II veteran and this August will mark 34 years he has been gone. My uncle also served his country for eight years in the Air National Guard.
At this time of year, I try and reflect on those family members who have gone on to their resting place. One of my aunts died at the age of 16, several years before I was even born, but she’s in several pictures that were passed down to me.
For those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, especially recently, I can understand that feeling. Twenty-four years ago we buried my brother on Saturday, May 23, of Memorial Day Weekend.
This Saturday is May 28.
I’ve written about Memorial Day many times in this column. Last year, I did some research about how this holiday originated.
I know it’s an annual holiday and is observed on the last Monday in May each year.
It also honors the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. military and protecting Americans, its borders, and the freedoms we so much enjoy.
According to the website history.com, it originally was known as Decoration Day. It originated in the year following the end of the Civil War.
The Civil War ended in the Spring of 1865. Until researching this holiday, I didn’t realize that the Civil War claimed more lives than any other conflict in U.S. history that succeeded it until World War II.
This, I understand, led to the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries.
It became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries, attending memorials and other activities.
My hope is this weekend people will pause for just a moment to honor our veterans and pay tribute to the sacrifices they had made.