Memorial Day...Remembrances

My dad is a Vietnam Vet.  Although he never asked to go to war (he was drafted like so many other young men then), he did his duty and fought for his country...and he came home.  Lucky for me, since I wouldn't be here if he hadn't.  I can't tell you if he was proud of his service because he never really mentioned being proud.  I also do not think he was ashamed in any way.  I think it was just something he thought the he had to do and he did it.  It wasn't a secret, I've known my whole life that he fought in that war and occasionally he would bring up a story or two-nothing too serious, just small moments regarding his time there.  I knew he was a medic while he was there, but when I was younger, I never really thought about what that really entailed.  Now that I'm older, I hate to think about the horror he experienced.

Through the years, he talked about the time he spent in basic training in Colorado Springs and my grandparent visiting him while he was there.  He talked about flying on the helicopters in Vietnam and occasionally he would talk about some of the men he met while he was there.  He would tell stories of crossing rivers and having to pull leeches off of his legs after the crossing and the miserable weather.  And sometimes he would pull out his pictures (I wish I had one to share right now) and medals that he received, but there were never stories about what really happened there.  I'm sure part of that was to protect us from the realities of war and the other part was probably things he just didn't want to discuss.  I know that he talked about these things with my mom and thankfully he adjusted well to life after coming back...when many others did not.

I remember him telling me once, when I got older, that sound of helicopters used to give him flashbacks...and yet in 1976 at the Brady Township Bicentennial celebration, my dad took my brother and me on a helicopter ride.  There is really only one story that he told, when I was a teenager, that got into the life and death realities of war and what he faced.  One night, as his platoon was camped for the night, the night watchman fell asleep and there was an attack on their camp.  The enemy came in with guns blazing, shooting the soldiers as they slept.  Many of the men there died, but my dad made it out alive and unhurt.  As a medic he would have had to spring to action to help the others and would have watched these other young men, his friends, die.    I can't even imagine what that does to a person.

Just a few years ago, my nephew asked my dad a question about his time in Vietnam. He wanted to know if his grandpa had ever had to kill someone.  Pretty amazing question for a kid.  No one had ever asked him that question.  And my dad told me later that he was glad that he was able to say that he had not.  Before that moment, I had never thought about that.

Memorial Day isn't really about my dad or any other of the veterans who made it home and yet in many ways it is about them and what they saw, what they lived through, and who they lost.

As a kid, every year we would go to the Memorial Day Service, put together by our local American Legion, at one of our local cemeteries.  We'd watch them raise the flag and then watch as they did the 21 gun salute and we'd run to collect the empty shells that fell to the ground.  The ceremonies never lasted long and we would walk around the cemetery afterward to visit a few graves of relatives and then head home.  I have very fond memories of those days.  I'm guessing, in retrospect, one of the reasons that we attended was because of my dad's service and his desire to remember those that were lost.

Over the years, I have found other ways to celebrate Memorial Day and to remember, throughout the year, those who sacrificed their lives for my freedom.  I have visited a number of National Cemeteries and have attended many Memorial Day parades, but I have missed those small town celebrations of my childhood.  Many times over the years, I have contemplated finding a Memorial Day service to attend and finally, today I was able to do just that.

Bayshore Park Veterans Memorial, Munising, MI

It was a beautiful sunny morning, as we left our hotel room to walk to Bayshore Park in Munising for the first part of their Memorial Day Celebration.  There was the raising of the flag, the playing of the National Anthem, and a brief speech and prayer followed by the reading of the names of all of the area residents who had been killed in the line of duty since World War I.

Imke, Maddie and Max were very good at paying their respects too.  Max especially enjoyed all of the extra love and attention he got while we were there.  Maddie was about to get the shock of her life.

Honor Guard

And then to end the service, there was the 21 gun salute and the playing of taps.  It was beautiful ceremony.  I was so proud of the dogs and even more proud and thankful to be an American and to be celebrating the freedoms we have.  And there was a beautiful view to top off this celebration.

Munising Bay

Following this ceremony, we attended the Blessing of the Fleet also held in the park.

Blessing of the Fleet

In addition to the service at the Veteran's Memorial in the park, I wanted to attend a service at a cemetery as well, so we walked back to our hotel and then drove to the Maple Grove Cemetery for the 11am service that was planned there.

Maple Grove Cemetery, Munising MI

Unlike the services of my younger years, this was a much more formal affair with a podium and speaker system.  They did the flag raising and then one veteran stood up to tell a story, a story of friends who had gone into war together, but who had not all made it back home.  And as I watched this group of veterans and listened to this story, I saw one man slowly wiping tears away.  This man, probably in his early 70s who had fought in a war that happened 50 years ago,  still had the raw emotions of that loss of friends. It's a moment that would have been beautiful to capture on film, but out of respect, I just couldn't do that.

Maple Grove Cemetery, Munising 

After the speaker concluded his story, there was a blessing and the reading of the names of all of the area Veterans who had died in the last year and the ceremony ended with the 21 gun salute and the playing of taps.  They quickly concluded as storm clouds began to roll in, announcing that there would be two more services held at two other local cemeteries.

Since the weather was a bit questionable and with no other solid plans for the day, I headed East to the Munising Township Cemetery in Wetmore.  This is a tiny little cemetery and the turn-out was small.  It was a quick raising of the flag and 21 gun salute as the downpour began.  I was glad I had come to show my support.

Munising Twp Cemetery, Wetmore MI

As a quickly as the rain had started, it stopped, and the skies cleared as I drove West to Au Train for the final ceremony of the day.  With another quick raising of the flag, the 21 gun salute, and the final round of taps, our Memorial Day celebration was complete. 

Au Train Twp Cemetery, Au Train MI

I have to say that I am honored to be an American.  I am proud of who we are as a people and what we stand for.  I know that not everything in our country is perfect, but in small towns across this country there are hard working people who believe what I believe...that America is great and that our freedoms are worth fighting for...every day.  I am thankful for all of the men and women who fight for our beliefs and have fought for them for over 240 years.  And I hope that we can remember every day, those who made that ultimate sacrifice so that we could live in the home of the free...the land of the brave, the country I am proud to call home.  I am free because some died fighting for me. Someone I never knew, someone who lived before I was born.  Someone who died for the promise of the future...a future they never got to see.  That is an amazing sacrifice.  And that is what makes America great.  

Happy Memorial Day