Ahhhhh!  The sun is shining.  Birds are singing.  Sweet smells of new green grass abounds.  Beautiful spring flowers are in bloom.  We’re going on a picnic to the lake, or maybe the beach.  There’s a parade downtown with fire trucks, floats, bands, and old guys marching in their too-tight military uniforms.  Maybe some fireworks tonight.  It’s the unofficial beginning of summer.  A three day weekend.  No work until Tuesday.  Yea, life is good.  Let’s have some fun.

But wait.  It’s Memorial Day.  The day all true Americans commemorate the brave fallen soldiers of our wars.  The very people that gave their lives, so that you and I can enjoy the freedoms that we have today. Memorial Day began as Decoration Day after the Civil War to honor the Union soldiers that lost their lives in battle.  Graves were marked with fresh-cut flowers.  Mass burial sites in Gettysburg, Shiloh, Chancellorsville, Chickamauga, and Antietam, the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, were decorated by the wives and girlfriends of their fallen heroes that didn’t make it back home.

In 1868, as our country slowly began to heal from this devastating war, and it appeared that we would finally become the United States of America, General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, proclaimed the 30^th of May, Memorial Day.

By 1890, all of the Northern states observed this commemoration.  It wasn’t until 1971, when Memorial Day was proclaimed by Congress to honor the dead of all wars, that most of the Southern states began to observe the last Monday in May.

On the hallowed grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery, a wreath will be placed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Dedicated in April, 1932, the marble monument sits at the head of the gravesite of a WWI soldier brought back from France unidentified.  On May 30, 1958, the crypts to the left and right of the tomb were placed with the unidentified remains of combatants from WWII, and Korea, respectively.  On May 28, 1984, in the center,  President Ronald Reagan presided over the internment of the unidentified remains of a Vietnam War veteran. (Note: The Vietnam veteran, thru DNA testing, was later identified and exhumed.  Air Force 1^st Lt. Michael Blassie now lies in peace at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis.  The crypt remains empty to this day.)

Although there are 146 National Cemeteries in the United States, and 24 American Military cemeteries overseas, none are as revered as the one in Arlington, Virginia.  Comprising 642 acres of beautifully maintained  and manicured rolling land, majestic trees, (some over 100 years old), just driving through the front gate will take your breath away.  There are over 14,000 existing  gravesites, and on Memorial Day weekend, every marker will have a United States flag placed in honor by the 3^rd  U.S. Infantry Regiment.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has a sentinel that guards the Monument 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year.  They pace back and forth in front of the tomb exactly 21 paces in each direction.  The sentinel never stops, except to change direction, until his relief is there to ceremoniously trade places.  Every step, every turn, every salute, every guard change, is completed with the precision not known anywhere else in the world.  Not even at Buckingham Palace.

Visitors from all over the world come to Arlington to pay their respects for America’s fallen heroes.  Just regular people like you and I.  And then there are Dignitaries, Presidents, Ministers, Chancellors, and Heads of State that have placed a wreath at the Memorial Amphitheater.  All paying honor to the heroes of our wars.  Some are from countries that may surprise you.  Germany, Italy, France, Japan, Korea, and Russia.

If you ever get a chance to visit Arlington National Cemetery, please do so.  As you drive through the main entrance gate, and get the very first glimpse of the headstones, you will be humbled.  Visit the Arlington house, the Old Amphitheater, the Kennedy’s (both John and Robert) gravesites with the eternal flame, the Memorial Amphitheater, walk the many pathways that wind through the 70 different burial sections.  Watch the sentinel as he guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the frequent changing of the guards.

No.  This is not a paid advertisement for Arlington National Cemetery.   I’m just an old soldier (2 tours in Vietnam) that has the upmost respect for the unheralded military personnel, that gave the ultimate sacrifice………. their lives.

Have fun on this Memorial Day weekend.  Enjoy the time with your family and friends.  Go to your picnics, the beach, the parades, the carnivals, the parties, the food, and the downtime.  Just remember, take a moment and say grace, or a prayer, for the ones who gave us the rights, liberties, and freedoms that we enjoy today……our FALLEN HEROES.

Til we meet again.

FB  05/26/12