HONORING LIFE AND LEGACY OF OUR VETERANS
MEMORIAL DAY 2024
HONORING LIFE AND LEGACY OF OUR VETERANS
Have you noticed how fast the days have been passing by lately? It feels like yesterday when we were celebrating Christmas, enjoying the mild winter, and
enjoying early sunrise. And now, it is almost summer and time for late sunsets! That’s right, Memorial Day is the unofficial beginning of summertime. Not only we feel warmer time of the year, but it is also a Federal holiday, which means most people are off from work and spending time with family and friends doing Memorial Day activities.
As I recall in my youth, I never knew Memorial Day existed in the Philippines until my dad told me one day to pray for those who made ultimate sacrifice in service to their nation. He said Filipinos commemorate the Philippine-American War Memorial every year on 4th of February. My dad was a busy man and finding time to tell a significant story was so precious like gold nuggets. My dad was a civilian and did not serve, but his patriotism was invincible. My dad said, the Philippines was under Spanish rule for more than three centuries: 333 years to be exact and under the U.S. tutelage for about 48 years. The Americans defeated Spain and ceded its long-established colony of the Philippines to the United States in the Treaty of Paris. On February 04, 1899, two days after the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty, fighting broke out between American forces and Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought for independence rather than a change in colonial rulers. Aguinaldo became the first President of the new republic.
The war lasted three years; from 1899 through 1902, resulting in the death of over 4,200 Americans and over 20,000 Filipino combatants. Many Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, and disease. My family did not visit the shrine in Ifugao, but we prayed for brave souls who fought during the battle. The Philippine-American Memorial Day is celebrated as a working holiday.
As I entered and joined the United States army in 1984, I learned that Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday of May and a Federal holiday, where majority of Americans are off from work and spend quality time with their families. Although this year, Memorial day falls on 27 May 2024. The U.S. flag is half-staffed on Memorial Day, from sunrise until noon. Miniature flags are also planted on graves to honor our fallen comrades-in-arms.
Memorial Day in the United States was first observed on May 30, 1868 to remember the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers. It was proclaimed by General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, former union sailors and soldiers’ organization. In 1966, Congress and former President Lyndon Johnson declared that the birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. Memorial Day is celebrated also at Arlington National Cemetery. During these events, national cemeteries typically perform wreath-laying ceremonies accompanied by commemorative speeches, music, a moment of silence, and the playing of Taps.
The Veterans Affairs’ (VA) National Cemetery Administration maintains 155 national cemeteries in 42 states and Puerto Rico as well as 34 soldiers’ lots and monument sites. On Memorial Day, the VA encourages all Americans to honor life and legacy of Veterans by leaving a tribute on the Veterans Legacy Memorial. It is a site that contains nearly 10 million Veterans interred in VA National Cemeteries, VA grant- funded cemeteries, Department of Defense-managed cemeteries (including Arlington National Cemetery), U.S. Park Service National Cemeteries, and thousands of private cemeteries where Veterans have received a VA-provided gravesite marker since 1996. (https://www.cem.va.gov/find-cemetery/all-national.asp)
This month, VA will be also participating in a 20,000-mile march across the United States with 214,000 volunteers honoring our very own Veterans, survivors, service members and families. VA’s annual partnership between Carry the Load and National Cemetery Administration (NCA), supports rallies at 31 VA national cemeteries, covering 20,000 miles along five separate routes across 48 states. The public can sign up to participate by following the link:
https://participate.carrytheload.org/site/TR/2019/General?pg=entry&fr_id=1960
As of date, $1,030,810 has been raised, 7,279 participants, and Teams of 777. The goal is $2,000,000. The peer-to-peer fundraising goes toward strengthening nationwide services such as counseling, adaptive training, suicide prevention, equine therapy, service dogs, job placements, transition, home improvements, education scholarships for children of the fallen heroes, and many more.
“May we forever be indebted to the service members who gave their lives in service to our country, and we will never forget their sacrifice.”
THANK YOU FOR CONTINUING TO SUBSCRIBE TO SILENT FREEDOM WHERE FREEDOM MATTERS THE MOST.
https://www.cem.va.gov/find-cemetery/all-national.asp
https://www.historynet.com/the-real-history-of-memorial-day/
The Silent Freedom Team
I saw this beautiful metal wall art on Etsy and found the image most appropriate for the post. Here is the link:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/690187463/american-flag-with-soldiers-all-gave?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=some+gave+all+metal+wall+art&ref=sc_gallery-1-3&pro=1&search_preloaded_img=1&plkey=aa7ec001ed40e838c5bdcebd010f5149335588e5%3A690187463
