News & Columns > Michael P. Neufeld > MEMORIAL DAY: They Died for Us

MEMORIAL DAY: They Died for Us

By Michael P. Neufeld
Sunday, May 25, 2008

As we celebrate Memorial Day 2008, I'm reminded of the real reason we pause to salute the men and women who now sleep in the land they made free.

The heroes we salute sleep under the American flag they rendered stainless by their ultimate sacrifice.

Several years ago, during a trip to Washington, D.C., I made visits to several of the memorials constructed to honor these dead heroes. And I couldn't help but think how fitting the various memorials were because they were erected in the presence of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.

In the presence of Lincoln and in the shadow of Washington visitors discover the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Michael P, Neufeld.)

I saw a piece the other day on the placing of flags on every grave in Arlington National cemetery, the home of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, and remembered the tour guide pointing out the gravesite of the pilot of the airline that crashed into the Pentagon and seeing several services going on in different locations in the sprawling complex that overlooks the Potomac River within sight for the Lincoln and Washington monuments.

The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery takes place around the clock. (Photo by Michael P. Neufeld.)

Following the end of the civil war, many communities across the nation set aside a day to salute those who died in the conflict. I understand the "official" birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York where a celebration was first held on May 5, 1866.

It's wonderful that so many services and programs are being held in the mountain communities on Memorial Day to honor the Americans who took up the struggle of wars and conflicts and made the sacrifice to perpetuate the gift the founders of the United States of America entrusted to each of us—a nation conceived with Liberty and Justice for all.

For many years, Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day. But in 1882, Memorial Day was first used but didn't become official until a federal law was enacted in 1967. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed what is known as the Uniform Holidays Act moving three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday thus creating a three-day weekend. The bill also recognized Columbus Day as a federal holiday. The legislation actually didn't become effective until 1971.

Like so many other mountain residents on Memorial Day 2008, I display the flag they died for and have a solemn sentiment—three cheers for the living and plenty of tears for the men and women who died for liberty. They died for us!