Memorial Day Tribute
By: Steven Boaze


"Dedicated to the Men and Women of our Armed
Forces who have made this Memorial Day or any
other Day of freedom possible."

Memorial Day is their day, isn't it? It's
supposed to be the day a grateful nation pauses
to quietly thank the more than one million men
and women who have died in military service to
our country since the revolutionary war.

Or is it the day the beach resorts kick into high
gear for the summer season, the day the strand is
covered by fish-belly white people basting
themselves in coconut oil, the day the off-season
rates end and the weekend you can't get in a
seaside seafood restaurant with anything less
than a hour wait?

Or is it one of the biggest shopping center sales
day of the year, a day when hunting for a parking
space is the prime sport for the holiday stay-at
homers?

Or is it the weekend when more people will kill
themselves on the highways than any other weekend,
and highway patrol troopers work overtime picking
up the pieces?

I think the men and women who died for us would
understand what we do on their day. I hope they
would, because if they wouldn't, if they had
have insisted that it be a somber, respectful day
of remembrance, then we've blown it and
dishonored their sacrifice.

I knew some of those who died, and the guys I knew
would have understood.

They liked a sunny beach and a cold beer and a
hot babe in a black bikini, too. They would have
enjoyed packing the kids, the inflatable rafts,
the coolers, and the suntan lotion in the car and
heading for the lake. They would have enjoyed
staying at home and cutting the grass and getting
together with some friends and cooking some
steaks on the grill.

But they didn't get the chance. They drove over an
IED in Afganistan and Irag. They blew up in the
Marine Barracks in Beirut and died in the oily
waters of the Persian Gulf. They caught theirs at
the airstrip in Grenada in the little war everyone
laughed at. They bought the farm in the Drang Valley
and on Heartbreak Ridge, Phu Tai and at the Hue.
They froze at the Chosin Reservoir and were shot at
the Pusan Perimeter. Guadal Canal. They died in the
ice and snow of the Bulge and the Vosges Mountains.
They were at the Somme and San Juan Hill and at
Gettysburg and at Cerro Gordo and at Valley Forge.

They couldn't be here with us today, but think
they would understand why we don't spend the day
in tears and heart-wrenching memorials. They
wouldn't want that. Grief is not why they died.
They died so we could go fishing. They died so
another father could toss a baseball to his son
in their backyard while the charcoal is getting
white. They died so another buddy could drink a
beer on his day off. They died so a family could
get in the minivan and go shopping and maybe get
some ice cream on the way home. They died so that
the same family could worship in their own way in
a church of their choosing.

They won't mind that we have chosen their day to
have our first big outdoor party of the year. But
they wouldn't mind, either, if we took just a few
minutes and thought of them.

Some will think of them formally, of course.
Wreaths will be laid in small sparsely attended
ceremonies in military cemeteries and at
monuments at state capitols and in small town
squares. Flags will fly over the graves,
patriotic words will be spoken and a few people
there will probably feel a little anger that no
more people showed up. They'll think no one else
remembers.

But we do remember. We remember Smitty and Chico,
and Davey and the guys who died. We remember the
deal we made: if we buy it, we said, " Drink a
Beer for Me "

I'll do it for you guys. I'll drink that beer for
you today and I'll sit on that beach for you, and
check out the girls for you and, just briefly,
I'll think of you. I won't let the memory of your
tragic death spoil the trip, but you'll be on that
sunny beach with me today.

I will not mourn your deaths this Memorial Day,
my Friends. Rather, I'll celebrate the life you
gave me.


SEMPER FIDELIS

Steven Boaze USMC

Dude, reading that brought tears to my eyes. It's so true how nobody really thinks of the holiday for what it's meant for. I'm including myself in this, we all take it for granted, but yeah, that's just...yeah. All I can say is thanks for posting this and bringing it to some peoples attention.

Greatly appreciated from an active duty US Marine.
Semper Fi.
Jeremy

Thanks to you all....God Bless America

ive been out of the service for 5 yrs now, navy corpsman (2/2 fox company, wpns platoon, camp lejuene, nc). my battalion went to iraq right after i got out, and there were many dear friends that did not come back. and most of them i knew would have agreed with this post 100%, after all it was a marine who wrote it. i would like to thank shadhawg for taking the time to post it, with the way that most people are putting whats going on over there on the back burner, its nice to know that someone is making it a point to let everyone realize how much freedom costs, we all need a little reality check sometimes, my self included. so lets all pray for the devil dogs over there and the families of the ones who payed the ultimate price, and go out and spend a day on the river for our fellow anglers who make it possible for us to do so!!!! Semper fi