A Memorial Day Letter To the Editor

A letter to the editor from Manahawkin resident Steve Derion

There are 6,915 flags flying in front of Southern Regional High School this weekend. Each flag represents a service man or woman killed in the war on terror defending our nation. If you can, you should come see it with your own eyes.

It is a powerful reminder of the price of freedom and of the true meaning of Memorial Day. There is a sound that those flags make while flapping in the breeze, that I can't quite describe, but it is both haunting and powerful.

As you enjoy your weekend BBQs and family gatherings, remember these flags. Remember there are 6,915 American families whose Memorial Day is going to be far more difficult than ours.

Families like that of Kyle Milliken, a Navy Seal, husband, and father who was killed this past May 5th in Somalia, or the family of Barbara Vieyra, who left behind a daughter when she was killed by a rocket propelled grenade in Afghanistan on September 18, 2010, or the family of Southern's own Kareem Khan, who lost their beautiful boy when he was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq on August 6, 2007.

As Lincoln stated in a letter to Lydia Bixby, who lost five sons in the Civil War, "I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom."

It is windy today, so if you do stop by and see a flag has fallen, please stop and replant it. It may belong to Kyle, Barbara, or Kareem. Have a wonderful Memorial Day, but don't forget to stop and say thank you to the 6,915 who have given the last full measure of devotion for all of us.

Images: Courtesy of Steve Derion