Sasquatch
Contributor
The big back-lit reader board over a department store in my town was headlined with "HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!" below which were a few specials for the weekend; sleeping bags, coolers and what not. I parked and went in but for some reason I couldn't shake that image of the billboard. I had other things on my mind but soon it hit me. The sentiment was badly misplaced and I was sure it was a result of ignorance on the part of whomever decided to use those words. I could have, and would have, let it go if it hadn't been for C.J. Williams.
I hadn't thought about him in years, Arnold Holland and Lieutenant Paul Duncan, too. Their names and faces just popped into my mind. This was a holiday created for them. One day out of the year when our normal routines are altered so that we can take a moment to remember men that died serving their country. Does everyone know this? I wonder.What I do know is that Memorial Day is to thank and remember all those like Williams, Holland and Duncan who served with me in the Marine Corps until they couldn't serve anymore.
I was lucky and nearly joined them but after 63 days in the hospital I lived to marry and have a family, friends and a career. They didn't. I get to SCUBA dive on a regular basis, and for all of the things and people I've known and loved I remember the sacrifices made by people like these. I'm grateful and I miss them.
Though I was expecting an ordeal after stating my case about the tone of the Memorial Day greeting the store manager heard me out and agreed it was an honest mistake further promising to have it changed. The next morning I drove by and it had been changed to read, "Remember Those Who Sacrificed Everything for Freedom".
To all of you, have a wonderful holiday and remember those that did their duty to the end.
To Arnold, Charles and Paul…Semper Fi.
I hadn't thought about him in years, Arnold Holland and Lieutenant Paul Duncan, too. Their names and faces just popped into my mind. This was a holiday created for them. One day out of the year when our normal routines are altered so that we can take a moment to remember men that died serving their country. Does everyone know this? I wonder.What I do know is that Memorial Day is to thank and remember all those like Williams, Holland and Duncan who served with me in the Marine Corps until they couldn't serve anymore.
I was lucky and nearly joined them but after 63 days in the hospital I lived to marry and have a family, friends and a career. They didn't. I get to SCUBA dive on a regular basis, and for all of the things and people I've known and loved I remember the sacrifices made by people like these. I'm grateful and I miss them.
Though I was expecting an ordeal after stating my case about the tone of the Memorial Day greeting the store manager heard me out and agreed it was an honest mistake further promising to have it changed. The next morning I drove by and it had been changed to read, "Remember Those Who Sacrificed Everything for Freedom".
To all of you, have a wonderful holiday and remember those that did their duty to the end.
To Arnold, Charles and Paul…Semper Fi.
