This is what Memorial Day is truly about... REMEMBER!
Paul McBride
Veteran: USMC, MBE Senior Healthcare Executive: US/State Governments, Health Systems, Payers, VA/VHA Veterans Advocate: Writer, Keynote/Inspirational Speaker, Board Member Corporate Speaker: Leadership/Team building
"Only the dead have seen the last of war." ~Plato
Hand salute to ALL Gold Star Families.
As many of us are making plans to "hit the beach" or attend a BBQ this long weekend in anticipation of the kickoff to summer... we should take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of the Memorial Day Holiday.
Unlike Veterans Day - which honors ALL veterans living and deceased, Memorial Day - first known as "Decoration Day" - is a day to REMEMBER those Americans who died serving our country. This picture depicts what the difference is very poignantly...
As a Marine Officer in the mid-80’s... having just completed a tour in the Far East, my second stateside posting was to Washington, DC.
One of my additional duties was “Casualty Assistance Call Officer.” If a Marine was killed or seriously injured and his or her Next-of-Kin resided in the DC Metro area, I was assigned to notify the family.
While it was hard enough to notify the parents of an unmarried Marine’s death, it was particularly tough to notify a young spouse and/or younger children. Per the picture above, presenting the folded flag on bended knee to the family of a fallen Marine after Taps was played... ALWAYS resulted in more than a few tears. While this duty was painful, it was also uplifting in that I was given tremendous latitude to do “whatever the Marine Corps could” on behalf of the fallen Marine’s family.
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The “bravery” and determination displayed by the Gold Star Families I met along the way was truly awe inspiring. This life changing work taking care of our own imbued in me a lifelong commitment to veterans and their families.
This Memorial Day, take a moment to REMEMBER those who have died in the service of our country (and the young widow and her son depicted above) so that we can enjoy our day at the beach!
Hand salute to all Gold Star Families!
Semper Fi and God bless us… everyone… Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman, Coastguardman, Guardian, Military Families and Veterans!
About the author... Paul McBride is a former Marine Officer and the Founder and President of American Military Society Press. He currently serves as Regional Vice President at ZeOmega Population Health Management. You can contact him at [email protected].
NB: A version of this article originally appeared on the AMSP1775 website on May 28, 2018.
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6 个月Very good job there, Paul! Semper Fi (if I??may use that…). ? Take good care and best to the family, eh? ??
Senior Executive Consultant
6 个月As always you hit the mark. ?Thank you my brother. IYKYK. S/f
Lecturer at The Bush School, TAMU -Washington DC
6 个月Good article Paul. When I served in Afghanistan in 2009-2010, I attended not only our own memorial services but also the UK Force at Joint Base Bastion. They used a stanza from Laurence Binyon’s poem For the Fallen. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. and the entire formation would reply ” We will Remember them!”