
people nowadays just see it an extra day ...off work, an excuse to have a BBQ and get drunk, the beginning of summer, or they can now wear white without being arrested by the fashion police.
What it is SUPPOSED to be and SHOULD be about are all the men and women who have died in military service for the United States of America … for you and me. If you have kids or grandchildren, please convey the true meaning of this “holiday” by teaching them about it and by doing something special. Go buy some of those small American flags and place them in the Veteran’s section of a local cemetery or on the grave of a family member who served or place a wreath or some flowers (You can get them at almost any grocery store) at a memorial in your town.
If you have your own flagpole then you can show your patriotism and do your own poignant history lesson right there. Proper etiquette and tradition requires that the flag of the United States be raised briskly to the top of the staff and then slowly lowered to the half-staff at dawn. Most people leave it that way all day, but that is incorrect and disrespectful on Memorial Day. At NOON the flag should be raised again to full-staff for the remainder of the day. This symbolic act shows that we honor their memory and service and that their sacrifice was not in vain and that we resolve to continue the fight to keep America free.
By: Chet Powell