Thoughts about Memorial Day:

[capri0mni]

Regardless of what you believe about the politics of this, or any, war, there is something noble about the soldier, and a soldier's death. Whether voluntarily or not, they are in the caste of the despised; they are stripped of their personal identity, and made to go and face Death, while the rest of the society that sent them out continues moving on through the seasons. Whatever platitudes the spokesmen for the Government provide, they often fight for the sake of the buddy beside them.

And those who are lucky enough to come home must dwell, for the rest of their lives, with the memories of the Hell they had seen.

So it is fitting that we take at least one day out of the year to remind ourselves that they are more than cannon fodder -- and that wars have a cost.

But this year, I found myself wondering: is it time to remember the other cost, and set aside a special day to remember the civilians who die in war?

Memorial Day started in the late 19th Century, to honor the Union Soldiers who died in the Civil War; it wasn't until after WW1 that soldiers from all wars were included. We've not had another war on American soil since the Civil War, so the civilian dead have always been the Other -- dem furnurs. I don't expect there to be much sentiment cast toward their lives (though I think they deserve it). But, especially in the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, now, civilians are stepping into Death's garden -- News reporters, contractors, peace activists.

Will the CBS newsmen, who were killed this last weekend, be remembered as part of next year's Memorial Day ceremonies?

Sadly, I doubt it.

Comments

[narm00.livejournal.com]

Over in the UK, we remember our veterans on Rememberance Sunday, usually the nearest Sunday to Armistice Day (November 11th). The intent, like the US Memorial Day, is to remember those soldiers who have lost their lives fighting for the UK. (I'm given to understand we combine US Memorial Day and Veterans Day into Rememberance Sunday).

Now, in the UK, as the day comes up, it's possible to buy red poppies from the British Legion, to help commemmorate the soldiers. However, in recent years, another tradition has sprung up; it's now possible to buy /white/ poppies - I think from different organisations - to commemmorate the civilians who die in war, too.

So we're attempting to make Rememberance Day a day when /all/ those who die in wars - soldier and civilian alike - are remembered.

(Why poppies? Because of the First World War. After the War, poppies grew on many of the war's battlefields, and they became a symbol of those who had lost their lives.)

[capriuni.livejournal.com]

Well, because of Memorial Day's origins, in the aftermath of the Civil War, it took a long time for the states of the former Confederacy to adopt it. Some had (and still have) a Memorial Day just for the Confederate Soldiers, and in other communities, they celebrate "Decoration Day" on the Sunday before Memorial Day, dedicated to decorating the gravesites of all those who died over the previous year. So that's a memorial for civilians, I guess.

But as horrible as deaths from cancer or car wrecks are, I still think death from warfare deserves a special attention. I like the white poppies idea. For me, I'd get both...

Memorial Day, for 'Merkins, is basically our Rememberance Day. For us, November 11th is Veteran's Day -- when we honor all soldiers, alive and dead.