Decoration Day

I remember when Memorial Day always fell on May 31, no matter what day of the week that was. Everything closed and everyone observed Decoration Day.

Decoration Day is what everyone used to call it. It was for the remembrance of fallen soldiers, but in my family, at least, it was also a time to remember family members.

My grandmother put on her Sunday best. My mother drove her to the cemetery. They took flowers to the graves of my mother's father (who died before he ever became my grandfather), and later my mother's brothers, along with other departed relatives.

I don't remember much beyond that, but I know there was no picnic or barbecue. Decoration Day wasn't the unofficial beginning of summer, a time to party. It was simply a time to remember.

So much has changed. Unfortunately, one thing is the same. When I was young, soldiers were dying in an unpopular war in Vietnam. Now they are dying in an unpopular war in Iraq. The U.S. left Vietnam, in a hurry, but that country is now prospering. Will Iraqis ever be given the opportunity to rebuild their country?