Memorial Day

Each Memorial Day brings back memories of a day I spent in Apeldoorn in The Netherlands. It was the spring of 1990.

The Dutch have celebrated Bevrijdingsdag (Liberation Day) every five years since they were liberated from German occupation on May 5th, 1945. There was a huge parade in front of the palace Het Loo, the summer residence of the House of Orange-Nassau for over 300 years.

There was a fly-over of most of the remaining flyable B-17 "Flying Fortress" bombers left in the world. There were bands, military units, more bands, more military units...

But the most amazing thing to me that day was the carloads of the soldiers who had been there 45 years earlier and who had fought to free the Dutch people. Each of these cars had two or three old men, mostly Canadian and British, who rode among the cheers of people who were grateful for their service. Many of them had tear-streaked faces.

That was 18 years ago. Most of those men have since passed away.

Later that day, I visited the Netherlands American Cemetery and saw the rows upon rows of white crosses where 8,301 American servicemen are buried. Most of them lost their lives nearby. A memorial lists the names of an additional 1,722 missing American servicemen.

I had heard the poem, In Flanders Fields before, but on that day, it had new meaning to me.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
--John McCrae

In the years since, I've often thought of those who died fighting to preserve peace, and to them, I am grateful. I'm grateful to those that have taken up to torch of freedom today, some of whom have also given up their own lives fighting for what they believe.

Enjoy your Memorial Day on Monday, but don't forget the purpose of this day: to honor those who perished in military service to their country. Take a moment to reflect on the freedoms you enjoy and to pay tribute to the many that have died in defense of those freedoms.