Decoration Day – May 27, 2024
Today is Memorial Day or what previous generations knew as Decoration Day.? Here in my hometown of Charleston (S.C.), Decoration Day was first celebrated on May 1, 1865, just 22 days after Generals Lee and Grant signed the surrender agreement at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia.? Since that day, millions have paused on the last Monday in May to honor those who gave the last full measure.
To all of the Gold Star families, we affirm that we owe you a debt that we could never repay.? I leave you with the words of a man who could write with infinitely more eloquence than I could ever hope to muster, Abraham Lincoln.? This is an excerpt from a letter written by him to a lady who had sent all five of her sons off to war, two of which perished on battle fields right here in the United States of America.
…I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom…
Please never forget; never take it for granted.
Sincerely,
Andy Rowland
P.S. Do you want to lend a hand? Click on the link below to learn about voluteering opportunities with the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
https://www.cdceportal.va.gov/