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Guest Article by Sarah Gentili

Take The Time To Remember Veterans

Memorial Day has become associated with many things in our society. Sadly, most of us associate this holiday with four day weekends and great shopping. Very few of us take the time to appreciate what this special holiday is all about, remembering those who have died in war to protect our freedom. Their sacrifice gives us the freedom to enjoy that long weekend or take advantage of all those good sales. Like everything else, the real meaning of this holiday has gotten lost in the reality of our daily lives.

This fact was brought to shocking light for me when I heard about President Obama’s plans to skip the services at Arlington National Cemetery this year and take a family vacation in Chicago. At first I was appalled. Whatever my political leanings, I will be the first to tell you the President has the hardest job in the world. The man deserves a vacation. But does that mean he has to do it during this holiday? Clearly not.

However, if he should take the time to visit Arlington and pay his respects, shouldn’t we as a people take a little bit of time to do the same? There is a growing disconnect between the people and the military in this country and the end result is that we take them for granted.

While I had no great plans for the holiday beyond my normal work schedule, my daughter was able to go with other youth from our church to the military cemetery in our town. This proved to be a wonderful experience that gave her a better understanding of why the soldiers put their lives on the line for strangers like her. The activity was cold and wet and my daughter felt a bit creepy at the idea of spending the afternoon in a graveyard, but was glowing by the time she got home.

The activity involved going to the cemetery and learning about the flag, as well as proper ways for cleaning graves. They also had a recently returned soldier from Iraq speak to them about his experiences and in particular about why he choose to put his life on the line every day for strangers.

While I was unable to arrange a similar activity for the whole family, I was happy my daughter could have this experience. But Memorial Day doesn’t have to be limited to a single weekend once a year. There is no reason my family cannot pick another weekend to go to the cemetery, pay our respects for the dead and remember the sacrifices others made for each and every one of us. I think this will make us stronger as a family and American citizens. I hope each of you will also try to find time to remember our fallen; and if you cannot do it this holiday weekend, then make the commitment to do it soon.

Cemetery Visit To Honor Fallen Soldiers (by Justina Gentili , age 12) 

When you hear Memorial Day, most people think of four day weekends and no school. I thought just that until I heard at my church, that we youth were going to a cemetery to put flags on Veterans’ graves. To me, that was not my idea of fun. The whole week, I thought about how the cemetery activity wouldn’t help me learn anything. I was clueless on the meaning of Memorial Day. I didn’t understand it enough, nor truly appreciate it.

When Thursday came around, I still felt creepy about going to a cemetery after five. As we headed to the cemetery with our adult advisors, I became anxious. We met inside the cemetery building where the people who worked there had their offices. One job they had was to make sure the cemetery was kept clean.

We talked to the owner of the cemetery. She was very nice. She had her son, a soldier, tell us which gravestones were from people who served in the military or helped make things for the soldiers. We also learned proper cemetery etiquette.

Once we started to go to the gravestones, it started raining. I grabbed my jacket, and headed out. Once we got there, they handed each of us each about seven flags to start with and we went looking for gravestones that showed individuals who served in the military. There were people from World War 1 and World War 2.

It was neat to study the gravestones and clean them so that we will all know that they gave there lives for our freedom. We finished an hour early, so we went inside with the soldier, and sat to wait for pizza. We asked him questions, and each time he answered with a smile and he never had a harsh tone of voice.

I asked him what his favorite job in the army was, and he replied, “ I have to say that my favorite part of being in the army is being responsible for the soldiers to get out alive.”  

That must have been a huge responsibility and it must have been tough. Another question was how often did your basic trainers have to yell at you because you did something wrong. He just laughed and said “He did not remember how many times he had gotten yelled at for doing something wrong”.

I learned that a large majority of soldiers actually did not have to use there guns to kill other people. It was often that they helped soldiers move from base to base. Rarely did he have to kill anyone.

When pizza came, we ate with the soldier and he told us some really cool stories. When we had to leave, I said thank you to the returned soldier from Iraq. He had been a soldier for ten years.  

On the way home, I realized how much just three or four hours changed what I knew about our flag, the wars, and of course Memorial Day. When I got home, I knew that there was a shine in my eyes, and I would never think of Memorial Day as just a four day weekend again.

If you ever get the chance to go to the cemetery, you should look around, and thank those many soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom. You never realize how hard they work until you actually meet one. This is all I will tell you. Meeting a soldier was a life changing experience. It is truly amazing that the soldiers rarely come back and complain. Sometimes they even go back because of how much it changes them. Hopefully, you will no longer think of Memorial Day as a four day weekend.

THANK THE SOLDIERS THAT FIGHT FOR YOUR PROTECTION AND FREEDOM!!!

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Copyright 2010 Leland Pulley