Several years ago, I was in Washington D.C., I think it was May or June. I had the opportunity to go down to the Viet Nam Memorial (The Wall). As I was standing there looking at the wall and seeking out some names that I knew, I turned and saw this site. I took a quick picture and for a very long time, I never noticed or saw this picture. As I look back at this picture, I am overwhelmed by the memories. Memories of the day, memories of the people I knew. Memories of the other monuments but most all the people that I remember who were, like me, growing up in the military. As I was growing up on military bases, more than once, I recall someone from my class or someone in the neighborhood suddenly moving. We would all hear the stories that someone's father had been killed in action or that someone we knew no longer knew where their parent was, usually becoming an MIA. The base was pretty efficient in moving a family out and then moving another family in to the housing unit. It ws always emotional and pretty terrifying when two soldiers in dress uniform would appear on the street. If we were out playing we would all run home from playing outside to see if they had visited our house. It was a tense time for families but I remember every family being proud of the job that their parent did in the service. In church, we would often have enlisted men visit the church and then one Sunday they weren't there anymore. More often than not they had gotten orders. I remember alot of the faces but don't know what ever happened to them or their families just that they had chosen to serve the country in the military. I don't have any real childhood friends. That wasn't the life we had. We would be somewhere for 3 years often moving on and off the base when I father was ordered overseas for an assignment. The longest assignment I remember was when he went to Korea. I got a sister out of that assignment when he and my mother chose to adopt Marylou and bring her to the states.
Memorial day is more than just picnics. It's remembering those that served and remembering many who gave the final sacrifice in service to their country. As I mentioned recently to some friends, my father understood service. He enterd the service at 16 and after retiring with 21.5 years entered seminary and then served as a pastor at several assignments. He once told me that the problem with the country isn't bad people, it is that people have lost the base understanding of serving others. I think he was right.
So Memorial Day means more than picnics to many of us who grew up in that life on military bases. It is the faces and names of the friends and families we encountered. It is more than just a holiday. Step back and be thankful but more importantly honor those that have served by serving others in some capacity.
Much love
Preach
Son of Command Sgt. Major Lewis W. Terry, United States Army (retired)
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