Memorial Day

Well, I wasn't feeling particularly patriotic today and I hadn't really given much thought to what Memorial Day was about at all. Then I decided to go to the Hobbs Cemetery and do some grave charting, which it's about time, it's been about a year and I've only done one section. Of course, I had seen the flags that the groundskeepers put on the graves, they do a nice job of it every year, but it made me stop and think when I actually started reading the gravestones. "Missing in Action at Paris, France, 1944", "Died 1936, Water Tender U.S. Navy", "S2 USN RF WWI", "PVT U.S. Army" were just a few of the words I read.

When I'm standing alone in the cemetery with just the sound of the wind, I start weaving stories in my head about these people and their journeys. The civilians as well as the military members, but the MIA grave made me have a pang in my chest. My husband, father, step-father, grandfather and uncle all served time to this country. They all came back safely. It hurt to think what I would feel if one had been left behind.

The photo above is of my uncle Haskell and some of his buddies when he was in the Navy. In our cemetery plot, we have two military headstones, Haskell's from WWII and my grandfather's from WWI. My grandfather's headstone is off by a year because he changed his birth date in order to join up.

So, I hope you didn't forget like I did, or if you did, I hope you remembered like I did. The military is a part of our family legacies, whether you or for against wars. Please honor these people with your thoughts.