Memorial Day, celebrated on the last Monday of May, is our nation’s unofficial start of summer. Of course, everyone knows that it’s the time set aside by our nation to pay honor to the men and women of the United States armed forces who paid with their lives to keep freedom a part of our heritage.
We are often told of the men of World War I, World War II, that greatest generation, that fought a war in Europe and the South Pacific and freed millions enslaved by despots in Germany, Italy and Japan.
As a nation we attend parades paying tribute to these fallen warriors. We mark the graves of the fallen with small U.S. flags. Those who have lost a son, daughter, husband, uncle, or friend in battle find the occasion the most solemn. In years past, I attended the Memorial Day tributes around Ramona, Calif., for the Ramona Sentinel, the newspaper my wife and I owned in San Diego County. There was never a ceremony that was poorly attended. We were in the heart of Marine Corps and Navy country. Many had retired from the service, only to retire in the ranching community above the port of San Diego.
However, this year is different. This is the first year that I will be celebrating the lives of two friends who died in the last 12 months.
Jim Schirmer, a graduate of Pierz High School and a former Coast Guardsman who served during the Vietnam era, settled in our mountain community after his service. We had hunted deer and pheasant in Montana. He died of a heart attack while at work.
The other friend, former Chief Petty Officer Nelson “Mac” Williams, died en route to his job. He died on Wildcat Canyon Road, a treacherous back road to his El Cajon, Calif. office. Mac was a military liaison officer for Rep. Duncan Hunter. Mac was one of those take-charge guys. He rose to every challenge and there was never a doubt as to who was in charge when Mac was around. He had been the ramrod for many a Navy admiral during his tour that landed him in our ranching community after his stint in the Navy. He was the epitome of a chief petty officer.
Both of these men had one thing in common: they loved their country and served proudly in the their respective branches of this nation’s armed services.
I salute all of the men and women who have made it home safely from Iraq and Afghanistan. They deserve our respect and support on the home front.
Those of you who suffered a loss of a loved one, I say thank you for the sacrifice your family made for this great nation.
A solemn happy Memorial Day.
—Keith Hansen
Comments (4)
Add commentWell said, Keith
I, too, salute and thank those men and women. It’s a darned shame that our commander in chief, ,resident O’Bama,doesn’t know how or simply refuses to salute them
right, steve (sarcasm)
He just brought them home from Iraq!
Sarcasm just
got lake some points. I hope eyolf approved.
I think that some things don't need to be politicized.
Just say thank you to the vets from all the wars, yesterday's and today's And Obama said yesterday, " Today is Memorial Day, when we recall all those who gave everything in the darkness of war so we could stand here in the glory of spring.
It's here we feel the depth of your sacrifice. And here we see a piece of our larger American story. Our Founders -- in their genius -- gave us a task. They set out to make a more perfect union. And so it falls to every generation to carry on that work. To keep moving forward. To overcome a sometimes painful past. To keep striving for our ideals. Let's resolve that in our democracy we can debate and disagree -- even in a time of war. But let us never use patriotism as a political sword. Patriots can support a war; patriots can oppose a war. And whatever our view, let us always stand united in support of our troops, who we placed in harm's way."
Can you honestly argue with that?