Memorial Day 2010

To most of us, Memorial Day is a day off from work, school, or just a day away from our usual routine. What is Memorial Day and why do we have it? According to Wikipedia, "Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.^[1] First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars."

This past Memorial Day, I was like any typical American, decide to head out to the beach for some sun ray and fun. I decided to go to Santa Monica pier for a stroll. When I arrived at the pier, I noticed a sea of something unique and different. It is not a sea of people that caught my attention, but a sea of crosses. Each cross tries to represent a person in uniform that died during the Iraq War. It is that image that reminded me what Memorial Day is about. All of a sudden, having the day off doesn't look like any other day off. Today is Memorial Day. I usually don't like to go into discussion about the Iraq War and rather not say the pro or con about it. However I will say, looking at the sea of crosses, made me feel the sadness and pain for the families of these people. The lives lost during these past few years, most of us live blindly day by day. We turn on the TV each day and we pay more attention to what happen to a celebrity lives than the lives of those who have been lost protecting this country.

Though Memorial Day comes and goes like any other day, we should never forget those who gave their lives to protect our freedom and most importantly not forget those who are currently there. We need to support them with what we can and hope no more crosses will show up.

Happy Memorial Day!
-- KN