Question of the Week: What Does Memorial Day Mean to You?

Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer for many people, but for others, it has a much greater meaning.

Traditionally, it is a day of remembrance, commemorating the American men and women who have died while serving their country—our fallen heroes.

In the present day, however, Memorial Day has become for some an occasion for other expressions of memory of loved ones lost. It’s not uncommon, for example, for people to visit the graves of friends or relatives, whether or not they ever served in the military or died for their country in war.

In a poignant blog post on Patch last week, Rev. Allison Moore of Fort Lee’s Church of the Good Shepherd recounted the story of one WWII Navy veteran and member of the church.

Moore concluded, “In the week before Memorial Day, preparing for sales and picnics, remember as you go through your ordinary day how much richer our nation might have been if we had never had to send men and women to war. Rejoice in our hard won freedoms, visit the cemeteries, mourn the losses of the living and the dead, and work for justice, freedom, and peace so that we don’t have to lose “so many good men [and women!]”.

Our question of the week this week, in the spirit of the occasion, is this: What does Memorial Day mean to you? Who do you remember this Memorial Day? Who or what are you thinking about and why?