I am sure all veterans have different reactions, feelings, memories around Memorial Day. This year was a little different for me because I was attending my grandson’s high school graduation in Maryland and, for the first time since moving to Boothbay Harbor over 25 years ago, I wasn’t part of the parade. But by not being in Boothbay, it had me thinking differently about the meaning of the day and what it means to me personally.

The purpose of Memorial Day initially was to honor those who didn’t come home from World War I, but my memory starts with WW II; and how we ended the war in the Pacific as almost current events for me. During my Navy career, in 1968, my ship spent some time in Sasebo, Japan. I took some of the crew to the Nagasaki Atom Bomb museum. There were many school kids there and they reacted to us (obviously US sailors) positively, wanted autographs actually, while the teachers stood back and watched, kind of indifferently. Made a lasting impression on me.

Everyone knows the story of D-Day and the landings on the beaches of Normandy. In 2020, I made my first visit to the beaches of Normandy. Having studied WW II and movie clips about the landing, until you actually see the beaches and the cliffs, you really don’t understand the full horror that faced the young men who left the landing craft and faced the ferrous German guns. Those landing crafts made many trips back and forth from ship to shore carrying the troops under heavy fire. Those landing crafts were driven by US Navy and USCG sailors. The beaches of Normandy were under heavy German artillery fire from the fortified positions at Pointe du Hoc, prompting U.S. Army Rangers to scale the roughly 100-foot cliffs under intense enemy fire to eliminate the threat. I truly didn’t appreciate the courage and determination required for that mission, until I saw it for myself.

I was in high school and have vivid memories of the heroes of the Korean “Police Action,” and personally experienced the Vietnam War. From the frozen hills of Korea to the jungles and river valleys of Vietnam, our young men and women served with courage, sacrifice, and devotion to one another. Many never returned home, while others carried the physical and emotional scars of war for decades. And today we continue to have our men and women serving to protect our freedoms and way of life.

Why all this background? Flag Day is observed on June 14, the day in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress approved the first official American flag. That it follows so closely with Memorial Day makes it much more meaningful. It reminds us that thousands of service members gave their lives protecting those ideals represented by our flag. The flag symbolizes freedom, unity, sacrifice, and national identity. It honors those who served and reminds us of shared ideals, rights, responsibilities, and democratic values. God Bless America!