Well gang, today is Memorial Day in our country. It is a holiday that has had quite an interesting past and it offers several lessons for us if we only have the confidence, humility and integrity to pay attention. It began as a day of remembrance as a result of the horrible conflict that took place in this country between April 12, 1861 and April 9, 1865; a conflict known as the Civil War and in the South as the War Between The States. By whatever name you call it, the conflict was truly horrible, resulting in horrendous loss of life on both sides. People who loved and grieved for those who gave their lives in the war vowed that their memories would not fade away and sought to establish a proper way of recognizing their sacrifice. Some would argue who first expressed the idea of a "Memorial Day" and a good
case could be made for Mrs. Mary Ann Williams of Columbus, Georgia (who wrote about the idea of a Confederate Celebration in March, 1866) or for General John Logan the acknowledged originator of the idea for a Union Celebration. Whatever the case, national days of remembrance were established to honor those who gave their lives in service to their country in the war of 1861-1865. Before long, another conflict we now know as "World War I" caused the country to realize that those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country in any war should be remembered. So, the practice of remembering fallen veterans has grown as time went on. Presently, many organizations that hold memorial services now include veterans who passed away during the preceding twelve months. Interestingly, the tradition calls for the memorial services to take place at 3:00 p.m. While it is unclear where the practice began, it is fairly common throughout the country. Another interesting and rather poignant fact is that when General Logan announced his idea, he chose May 30th as the "Day of Decoration" because it was a day on which no major battle had taken place in the War Between the States. Now, of course, it is celebrated on the first Monday in May (the reason for which is also interesting). But, all of that is merely a preface to what I wanted to tell you about. Those of you who have hung out with us here know that my brother, David, died last October. Not long before his death I had also lost one of my very favorite relatives on the whole planet, my aunt Col. Francis O. Vandiver, who retired
from the U.S. Army Nurse Corps a number of years ago. Well - I received an invitation from the American Legion chapter in Anderson, S.C. to attend their memorial service which would be held on the Sunday preceding Memorial Day. The American Legion is our nation's oldest veteran's organization, chartered in 1919, and is devoted to support for our country and mutual support for their brother and
sister veterans. We attended the service which began - as noted - at 3:00 p.m. and included a wonderful program of inspiring comments and, finally, a reading of the list of veterans who had passed away over the last year. As the names were called, relatives of the veterans were invited to place a red "Poppy" on a cross of remembrance. The use of the Poppy follows the tradition of what we know as "Remembrance Day" (now closely associated with our Veteran's Day) which was established at the end of World War I. The flower is referred to in the somber poem "Flanders Field" commemorating the fallen.) As
Francis and David's names were called, Linda and I were joined by one of David's closest friends in placing the flowers in their memory. Astonishingly, in the small county of Anderson there were more than two hundred thirty six veterans remembered from this one year. The service was both nostalgic and encouraging and I hope that as this significant day proceeds you will all take the time to recognize those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom and peace. I found myself reflecting on the people with whom I served who are no longer with us and found myself both smiling and shedding a tear or two. I know that I could never, ever describe how much I miss David and Francis. They were two of the most interesting, loving and involved people you could ever meet and we miss them every day. But, we know that they would be encouraging us to "get on with it" and do good stuff. That's a pretty worthy assignment so, that's what we'll do. See ya.
Well gang, today is Memorial Day in our country. It is a holiday that has had quite an interesting past and it offers several lessons for us if we only have the confidence, humility and integrity to pay attention. It began as a day of remembrance as a result of the horrible conflict that took place in this country between April 12, 1861 and April 9, 1865; a conflict known as the Civil War and in the South as the War Between The States. By whatever name you call it, the conflict was truly horrible, resulting in horrendous loss of life on both sides. People who loved and grieved for those who gave their lives in the war vowed that their memories would not fade away and sought to establish a proper way of recognizing their sacrifice. Some would argue who first expressed the idea of a "Memorial Day" and a good 
case could be made for Mrs. Mary Ann Williams of Columbus, Georgia (who wrote about the idea of a Confederate Celebration in March, 1866) or for General John Logan the acknowledged originator of the idea for a Union Celebration. Whatever the case, national days of remembrance were established to honor those who gave their lives in service to their country in the war of 1861-1865. Before long, another conflict we now know as "World War I" caused the country to realize that those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country in any war should be remembered. So, the practice of remembering fallen veterans has grown as time went on. Presently, many organizations that hold memorial services now include veterans who passed away during the preceding twelve months. Interestingly, the tradition calls for the memorial services to take place at 3:00 p.m. While it is unclear where the practice began, it is fairly common throughout the country. Another interesting and rather poignant fact is that when General Logan announced his idea, he chose May 30th as the "Day of Decoration" because it was a day on which no major battle had taken place in the War Between the States. Now, of course, it is celebrated on the first Monday in May (the reason for which is also interesting). But, all of that is merely a preface to what I wanted to tell you about. Those of you who have hung out with us here know that my brother, David, died last October. Not long before his death I had also lost one of my very favorite relatives on the whole planet, my aunt Col. Francis O. Vandiver, who retired 
from the U.S. Army Nurse Corps a number of years ago. Well - I received an invitation from the American Legion chapter in Anderson, S.C. to attend their memorial service which would be held on the Sunday preceding Memorial Day. The American Legion is our nation's oldest veteran's organization, chartered in 1919, and is devoted to support for our country and mutual support for their brother and 
sister veterans. We attended the service which began - as noted - at 3:00 p.m. and included a wonderful program of inspiring comments and, finally, a reading of the list of veterans who had passed away over the last year. As the names were called, relatives of the veterans were invited to place a red "Poppy" on a cross of remembrance. The use of the Poppy follows the tradition of what we know as "Remembrance Day" (now closely associated with our Veteran's Day) which was established at the end of World War I. The flower is referred to in the somber poem "Flanders Field" commemorating the fallen.) As 
Francis and David's names were called, Linda and I were joined by one of David's closest friends in placing the flowers in their memory. Astonishingly, in the small county of Anderson there were more than two hundred thirty six veterans remembered from this one year. The service was both nostalgic and encouraging and I hope that as this significant day proceeds you will all take the time to recognize those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom and peace. I found myself reflecting on the people with whom I served who are no longer with us and found myself both smiling and shedding a tear or two. I know that I could never, ever describe how much I miss David and Francis. They were two of the most interesting, loving and involved people you could ever meet and we miss them every day. But, we know that they would be encouraging us to "get on with it" and do good stuff. That's a pretty worthy assignment so, that's what we'll do. See ya.
