memorial day

today a former co-worker and current facebook friend posted the following on his wall:

I've been gracious about this. But it doesn't feel right. Memorial day honors our fallen brothers and sisters who paid the ultimate price for our country. I am a veteran. I have a day in November. While I am proud of my service, it does not belong in the same book, page, paragraph or sentence with those whom we remember on memorial day. Today please honor those who's check was cashed.

earlier in the day i had read and 'liked' many posts honoring and thanking those who serve our country -- both past and present -- and hadn't given it much thought.  his comment shook me from my complacent sense of general agreement to a more profound place of gratitude.  memorial day, after all,  is a day specifically dedicated to those who have sacrificed their lives in the service of our nation.

privileged to have grown up near the nation's capital, and to have spent a lifetime visiting us historic sites like gettysburg, little big horn, the uss arizona, etc., as well as having spent some time in the middle east during the first gulf war, i have a deep sense of humility and gratitude for those who were willing to risk, and indeed lost their lives, in the hopes of making and keeping this great nation great.

flawed though it may be, my travels have reinforced my belief in it's beauty, it's freedom, it's opportunity, and it's humanity. and today, i honor those who put on uniforms, never returning to the embraces of their loved ones, and i honor those, such as martin luther king, jr., who lost their lives in a different type of service to this nation.  thank you for your courage and your sacrifice.