Memorial Day’s Future

Memorial Day is a solemn time to honor those who died in their service to America. Widely confused with Veterans Day, Memorial Day is actually not a time to recognize veterans, though many churches this weekend will ask all the veterans in attendance to stand. The fact they can stand defies the whole point of Memorial Day. 

The origins of Memorial Day are many, from an enslaved people’s ceremony after the Civil War, to the Alamo aftermath recognition of the battle’s victims, and other acts of recognition for those who died in military service. Numerous memorials occurred until Congress made it an official federal holiday in 1971. 

I have no known Memorial Day casualties in my family’s lineage. My father was a WWII vet and is buried in a veteran’s cemetery, and while he is my hero, the day of recognition isn’t for him. He didn’t die in hand-to-hand fighting at Guadalcanal, or D-Day, or the fight to take Germany, but he did honor and recognize those who died in service to our country. He instilled that solemnity into me as a teenager. 

What are we to make of Generations X, Y, and Z that, maybe, have seen only “Saving Private Ryan” as their basis for the knowledge that war is bad. Just maybe, the Israeli-Hamas war’s horrible images have made it into their news feed and they understand that war has a terrible human cost. But do they understand that their ancestors fought and died for the life of the world less than a hundred years ago? Today’s creeping climate change is not the same as a WWII Nazi Blitzkrieg. 

I wonder about the future, every grandparent and parent does. What is the future going to be like for my kids and grandkids? I don’t know, but I suspect “Gen Whatever” will keep Memorial Day safe because it’s a three-day weekend to kick off the summer. Am I wrong?

Kelly Burke was born in Knoxville where he spent his younger years, followed by high school years in Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia Tech. He then graduated from Mercer Law School. He has been in private practice, a magistrate judge, and an elected district attorney. He writes about the law, politics, music and Ireland. He and his wife enjoy gardening, playing with their Lagotto Ramanolo named George Harrison, and spending time with their grandchildren.