“Never Was So Much Owed By So Many To So Few.”

As the Memorial Day holiday is fast approaching, many Americans are thinking ahead to this kick-off of summer weekend. Will it include a backyard BBQ, a camping trip or a long weekend to complete household chores or yard work? Memorial Day is more than just an extra day off work, a great day to buy a new mattress or to celebrate being American by eating a hot dog or a warm slice of apple pie. There is a history, and a virtuous one at that, of why we observe Memorial Day.

"Never was so much owed by so many to so few." - Winston Churchill

On May 5, 1868, just three years after the Civil War, a group of Union Veterans called the Grand Army of the Republic (the GAR) declared May 30th Decoration Day. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan gave the order for his posts to decorate the graves of the fallen “with the choicest flowers of springtime.” He wanted to “Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

The first organized Decoration Day observation took place that same year on May 30th at Arlington National Cemetery. After a speech by Ulysses S. Grant, who hosted the ceremony, children from local orphanages walked through the cemetery with members of the GAR, placing flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers. Decoration Day was expanded to honor all fallen US soldiers after the end of WWI. In 1971, it became a federal holiday. To honor an official National Moment of Remembrance at 3PM local time, every American is encouraged to pause in silence for one minute to reflect on the sacrifice of the soldiers who gave their lives for this country.

On June 19th, 2004 a Granite Memorial Wall was dedicated in Marseilles, Illinois to commemorate the servicemen and women who have lost their lives in worldwide conflicts since 1967. The project was conceived by Tony Cutrano and Jerry Kuczera, built with donated material and labor and is the first of its kind in the history of the United States to give honor to our fallen by name while a conflict is ongoing. It took 20 years to honor our Vietnam Veterans and almost 60 years to Honor our World War II Veterans. The names on the wall represent our fallen heroes from such diverse locations as Panama, Lebanon, the Balkans, Grenada, Somalia, Haiti, USS Cole, USS Stark, Terrorist attacks in Italy, Greece, Scotland, and the current conflicts in the Middle East.

The MECW is the only memorial wall of its kind in these United States. To honor our fallen and to raise awareness about the Middle East Conflicts Wall, I will be participating in a 20 mile ruck march with more than 600 people in the greater Chicago area over Memorial Day weekend. After completing the 20 miles, I will be continuing on (with my own team) the additional 80 miles (approximate) to the MECW. For more information or to support the event or the wall, please check the links below:

https://middleeastconflictswall.org
https://www.facebook.com/events/1280181175460562/

If you cannot participate but are interested in donating, please follow the link below:

Freedom Walk to the Wall

While Memorial Day is a holiday weekend, and you might partake in a BBQ and have an extra day off work to check things off your to do list, I encourage you to pause and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to ensure you have the freedom to do so. Every name etched on the MECW has guaranteed that freedom.

As a reminder, and as Maj. General John A. Logan stated on that first Decoration Day 150 years ago, “Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”