Submitted by Charlton Stanley (Otteray Scribe), Guest Blogger
Photo by Charlton Stanley (his father)
Friday I was reading another blog, and was stunned and appalled to read this opening line in a post (emphasis mine):
“For most of us, Memorial Day is a joyous occasion. We may think of idyllic, lazy summer days of childhood, whole months away from school. Our greatest concern might well be the inevitable traffic jams created when large groups of people head for the same destination at the same time.”
Many, including the person who wrote the statement above, mistake Veteran’s Day for Memorial Day. The day does not celebrate the veteran. It is a day of remembrance for those who never had a chance to become a veteran. Veteran’s Day is November 11, formerly called Armistice Day.
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day. The exact origin of the custom of decorating the graves of those who gave all in service to the country is shrouded by the mists of time and folklore. Memorial Day became official when General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, issued his General Order No. 11 on 5 May 1868. The first official Memorial Day observance was 30 May 1868. On that day, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Every year until 1971, Memorial Day was observed on May 30. In 1971, the National Holiday Act of 1971 was passed, making Memorial Day part of a three-day weekend. When Memorial Day became just another long weekend with a day off from work, it began to lose its meaning as a day of remembrance and reflection. The VFW’s official proclamation in 2002 stated in part,
“Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed greatly to the general public’s nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.”
In 1999, Senator Dan Inouye introduced a bill to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30 instead of “the last Monday in May”. The same year, Representative Gibbons introduced a bill in the house saying the same thing. Both bills were referred to Committee. Every year until his death, Senator Inouye re-introduced the bill. If anyone had the credentials to speak for veterans everywhere, it was Senator Inouye; one of the few members of Congress awarded the Medal of Honor. I hope that one day, Memorial Day will return to the original May 30. Every year that passes, a bit more of the real meaning of the day is lost.
We owe it to the dead to honor their memory. It does not matter the war, the cause, or the politics. For every one of those marble slabs in the Gardens of Stone, some parent or loved one got that terrible, awful knock on the door. When I was young, it seemed as if every other house had a gold star in the front window. Those memories are still fresh, even after all those decades. A series has been running on the Daily Kos blog called IGTNT (I Got The News Today). The series honors and remembers those Americans who lost their lives in combat or military operations in the war zone. Their names and pictures are there. Read them and weep for the loved ones left only with memories.
From the Skene Manuscripts
Shortly after the bloody battle at Flodden Field in 1513, one of the members of Clan Skene composed Flowers of the Forest as a lament for the Scots who perished in that terrible battle. It was probably composed originally for the harp, however; it was quickly adapted for the bagpipes. It was lost for about a century, until it was found in the Skene Manuscripts as “Flowres of the Forrest.” The original pipe tune did not have lyrics. In 1756, Jean Elliot wrote lyrics for the tune. Piping Flowers of the Forest has become traditional in the UK for military memorial services. The custom has spread to the US, and is often requested. Flowers of the Forest was piped for my son at his service in the National Cemetery. Because of the somber meaning of the lyrics and tune, pipers will not play or practice Flowers of the Forest in public. Public airing of the ancient tune is reserved for remembrance of the dead.
Flowers of the Forest refers to the soldiers. “The flowers of the forest are all wede away,” means they are all withered away, dead. Centuries later, the flowers theme would be reprised when Roy Williamson composed Flower of Scotland, which has become the National Anthem. This is Ronnie Browne singing Jean Elliot’s lyrics on the actual battlefield at Flodden, now peaceful meadowland.
Flowers of the Forest
By Jean Elliot, (1727 – 1805)
I’ve heard them liltin’, at the ewe milkin,’
Lasses a-liltin’ before dawn of day.
Now there’s a moanin’, on ilka green loanin’.
The flowers of the forest are a’ wede away.
As boughts in the mornin’, nae blithe lads are scornin’,
Lasses are lonely and dowie and wae.
Nae daffin’, nae gabbin’, but sighin’ and sobbin’,
Ilk ane lifts her leglin, and hies her away.
At e’en in the gloamin’, nae swankies are roamin’,
‘Mang stacks wi’ the lasses at bogle to play.
But ilk maid sits drearie, lamentin’ her dearie,
The flowers of the forest are a’ wede away.
In har’st at the shearin’ nae youths now are jeerin’
Bandsters are runkled, and lyart, or grey.
At fair or at preachin’, nae wooin’, nae fleecin’,
The flowers of the forest are a’ wede away.
Dool for the order sent our lads to the Border,
the English for ance by guile wan the day.
The flowers of the forest, that fought aye the foremost,
The prime of our land lie cauld in the clay.
We’ll hae nae mair liltin’, at the ewe milkin’,
Women and bairns are dowie and wae.
Sighin’ and moanin’ on ilka green loanin’,
The flowers of the forest are all wede away.
Vietnam had its iconic poems, tunes and laments as well. One of the more famous poems was by a helicopter pilot; Major Michael Davis O’Donnell. This was written on New Year’s Day, 1970 at Dak To. Major O’Donnell was killed three months later when his helicopter was shot down with twelve souls aboard. His helicopter was hit by ground fire while rescuing troops who had come under heavy fire.
By Major Michael Davis O’Donnell
If you are able, save them a place inside you,
And save one backward glance when you are leaving,
for the places they can no longer go.
Be not ashamed to say you loved them,
though you may, or may not have always.
Take what they have left, and what they have
taught you with their dying, and keep it as your own.
And in that time that when men decide, and feel safe,
to call the war insane, take one moment,
to embrace these gentle heroes you left behind.
There are many poems, essays and songs appropriate for Memorial Day, and for Memorial Day weekend. Some have special meaning for me. Joe Kilna MacKenzie wrote Sgt. MacKenzie in memory of his grandfather, Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie of the Seaforth Highlanders. Joe lost his own battle with cancer in 2009.
About his grandfather, Joe wrote:
“To the best of my knowledge, and taken from reports of the returning soldiers, one of his close friends fell, badly wounded. Charles stood his ground and fought until he was overcome and died from bayonet wounds. On that day, my great grandmother and my grandmother were sitting at the fire when the picture fell from the wall. My great grandmother looked, and said to my grandmother “Oh, my bonnie Charlie’s dead”. Sure enough, a few days passed, and the local policeman brought the news – that Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie had been killed in action. This same picture now hangs above my fireplace. A few years back my wife Christine died of cancer, and in my grief, I looked at his picture to ask what gave him the strength to go on. It was then, in my mind, that I saw him lying on the field and wondered what his final thoughts were. The words and music just appeared into my head. I believe the men and woman like yourself who are prepared to stand their ground for their family – for their friends – and for their country; deserve to be remembered, respected and honoured. “Sgt. MacKenzie”, is my very small tribute to them.”
Sgt. MacKenzie was featured in the soundtrack of the movie, We Were Soldiers. The cover photo in the video is Sergeant MacKenzie.
Eric Bogle wrote several songs about the futility and waste of war, two of the most famous being Green Fields of France, and The Band Played Waltzing Matilda. Lesser known is My Youngest Son Came Home Today. Eric says Mary Black, as a woman and mother, sings it far better than he ever could. Here is Mary Black with My Youngest Son Came Home Today.
Memorial Day is for remembering and honoring those who died in the service of their country. Please share your own special remembrances, poems or songs.
http://nobelwomensinitiative.org/our-blogs/women-beyond-war/
The Nobel Women’s Initiative’s fourth biennial conference, Moving Beyond Militarism & War: Women-driven solutions for a nonviolent world, will be hosted in Belfast by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire and five Laureates of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. They will be joined by over 80 influential activists, academics, and decision makers from across the globe whose work focuses on ending militarism and war.
Indeed the essence of nonviolence – and what we will be discussing the next three days in Belfast – is not just how to stop war in Syria and horrific levels of rape in DR Congo, but violence on our streets, in our communities, and the necessity of acting from love. And it often begins with listening. As Martin Luther King taught us: “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
Hey Mike,
You’re probably the classic here… Just ignore it… I realize something’s are irritating…. But like life…. Something’s you have no control over…
frankmascagniiii 1, May 27, 2013 at 12:37 pm
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. ‘No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till we get to base.’ His friend agreed.
———————
I have never paid for lunch on an airplane. On one flight the flight attendant asked me if I wanted a whole can of soda or only half. She was asking everybody else the same thing. I told her to decide. There was an argument. Then she called the Captain. Anybody wonder why? I only got half the can.
Your emotion is appreciated.
Michael Murry, Good poetry. I especially like “Syndromes of Wisdom”
Mike:
Dredd now ranks equally with the westboro baptist church in respectability
davidm2575 1, May 24, 2013 at 5:53 pm
Dredd, I hope you understand that not all hatred is bad. We should hate evil. That is the good kind of hatred. Not only is it good, it is our civic duty to hate evil. To be indifferent to evil or to love evil, that in itself is evil. To hate evil is a good thing.
============================
You are quite wrong and without any authority for such an assertion.
The problem with your assertion is that you define “hate” and “evil” as you will, and so does everyone else.
Thus, the cacophony of self-authentication results.
One side defines “evil” one way and the other side does likewise, because a hate filled person in Afghanistan can say:
and a hate filled person in the bible belt can say:
The only thing remaining for them to add is “god is own our side” and “kill the evil ones.”
More blood, more ignorance, and more hatred flows.
Hate solves nothing by having sex with itself in order to produce more hate.
Thus, in this context, “hate” is the fundamental foundation of evil, love is the fundamental foundation of good.
Hate distorts the mental processes in a manner that is obvious to all but the one whose mind is darkened by it.
Hate is and has always been the main fuel of tyranny and propaganda:
(Guardian, Saturday 25 May 2013). A book written in 1944 confirms that this trance like state has been perpetuated for a long time in western culture:
(On The Origin of The Bully Religion – 2). Furthermore, the law in the U.S. which makes hate part of the dynamic “hate crimes” further erodes your self-proclaimed honor of hatred.
A SHORT STORY [RESPECT THE MILITARY SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN]
The Box Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. ‘I’m glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,’ I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.
‘Where are you headed?’ I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. ‘Petawawa. We’ll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we’re being deployed to Afghanistan
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that box lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time…
As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. ‘No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till we get to base.’ His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. ‘Take a lunch to all those soldiers.’ She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes w et with tears, she thanked me. ‘My son was a soldier in Iraq; it’s almost like you are doing it for him.’
Picking up ten boxes, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, ‘Which do you like best – beef or chicken?’
‘Chicken,’ I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. ‘This is your thanks.’
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. ‘I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.’ He handed me twenty-five dollars.
Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’ Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain’s hand. With a booming voice he said, ‘I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.’ I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm
When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. ‘It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.’
Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.
As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little…
A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’
That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.’
May God give you the strength and courage to pass this along to everyone on your email buddy list….
I JUST DID
There is nothing attached. Just send this to people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in harm’s way, prayer is the very best one.
Mike Spindell 1, May 27, 2013 at 11:11 am
I said:
You responded:
You left it out, you don’t deny it, and it was important to understand it. You chose the ad hominem smear tactics of emotionally warped propagandists which is quite unbecoming of your general tenor.
You said:
My response:
You said:
My Response:
I like the way I think about war and death but do not like the way the Wartocracy thinks about it.
Dredd,
I credited you with the capability of self awareness and introspection, spparently I over estimated.
JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.
And tho’ sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
A politician’s stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.
It’s so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier’s part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor while he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.
© 1987 A. Lawrence Vaincourt
RAGGED OLD FLAG by Johnny Cash:
http://youtu.be/ZTVSBiBz10k
Charlton Stanley (Otteray Scribe):
Thank you so much for this great post. On behalf of all the families of veterans, we thank you for remembering our loved ones that served!
“SOME GAVE ALL”
http://youtu.be/pRGd0wI2tm8
http://billmoyers.com/episode/encore-what-its-like-to-go-to-war/
To truly remember those who have fallen, help someone following in those same shoes to stand back up. I was appalled to read that those who are serving now have done 7 tours…and more. And that the colour and face of our troops and enlisted men are representatives (once again) of a middle (and soon to be lower) and lower economic class in this USA. This Bill Moyers vid should put much into perspective for so many whose cushy lives have kept them far from the fields of battlement. The suicide stats need to be incorporated into the stats for active duty fallen. Blessed Be.
Here is a moving video that I would like to share with ya’ll:
“I FOUGHT FOR YOU”, dedicated to all that served and gave their all. In memory of T-4 Frank Mascagni, U.S. Army, Headquarters Battery 538th Field Artillery Battalion, World War II:
http://youtu.be/AgYLr_LfhLo
Beautifully written. Thank you.
That is the problem with too many of the ‘holidays’. Only reason seems to be for sales and to get a start on the weekend, or have the Monday off.
As to not teaching about Memorial Day meaning, they also don’t teach about Vietnam. Who knows what other important parts of our history kids do not get taught?
“Your answer is in the video of the words of the most decorated Marine General in his day, General Smedley Butler.
You left that out.”
Dredd,
Seriously. I alone have referenced Smedley-Butler on this blog at least dozens of time and for that matter so has OS. Do you really think he, or Larry, or I for that matter are oblivious to the issues you are raising? Do you give them so little credit for their sophistication and intelligence that you feel the need to inform them of fact that war is a racket? If so you not only have misread them and what they have written through the years, but you also elevate yourself above them in insight, which exhibits smug hubris.
What you seem unable to do is separate the real feelings of loss people have about soldiers who have died, or been maimed by war, from the issue of war itself.
Michael Murry, a Viet Nam veteran, who no-one could say is not radically against war and the corporate military/industrial complex wrote:
“@Otteray Scribe,
Thank you for the fine thread and the opportunity it provides for persons of many outlooks to voice their opinions about memory, the dead, and what use the living make of these. For my poor part, I have both prose and poetry to contribute, let others judge the worth of these offerings as they may.”
He went on to write:
“If I understand you correctly, Dredd, you object (and properly so) to the celebration and “honoring” of the socialized warrior as an enemy-slaying “hero” who serves as an abstract symbol lending himself or herself to “the corruptions of patriotic chauvinism” and “the obedience of the corpse.” This Memorial Day, I will think of the names Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, respectively, in this regard.”
Michael then went on in a number of posts to share his viewpoint via his poetry in a quite tasteful manner, that added to the discussion. You actually went into full attack mode that was vicious and ultimately stupid in terms of who you were attacking. To OS you wrote this:
“You need some counseling about this stuff that is “still raw” with you.
Seriously, there is nothing wrong with getting counseling if something sends you over the moon.
Your fight for the freedom to censor and suppress free speech and claim I am doing blasphemy here on Turley Blog is quite strange and out of place.
You have no right to impose “your raw” here on Professor Turley’s Blog, because it shames the nature of this free and open forum blog.
Please stop doing that OS.”
Dredd I must quote Nick Spinelli, something I am normally loath to do, but this comment of his hits the mark:
“Dredd, Grief and raw emotions are what make us human. People can see and understand that in others, because it is what binds us as emotional beings. And w/ that common bond, we offer respect to others griefing. Have you been tested for Aspergers?”
There is some social disconnect within you Dredd that fails to see that human emotions are our wisdom. You remind me of the quote by Irving Stone about the difference between Clarence Darrow and his law partner Edgar Lee Masters, which I will paraphrase:
“Master loved humanity and hated people, while Darrow hated humanity and loved people”.
You are like Edgar Lee Masters, someone who loves humanity in the abstract, but runs into trouble when it comes to relating to individual humans and their emotions. Your performance on this thread is indicative of that and I quoted Michael Murry to illustrate someone who effectively made the same points you made without the vitriol.
Now you also implied that OS “had no right to impose his raw [emotions]
on this blog”. That is ridiculous. Other guest bloggers do it all the time and I certainly have done it most times I write. Is it perhaps the “raw emotions” that threaten you somehow, since perhaps you have a need to swallow yours?
Through the years you have contributed much to this blog, but a good portion of that content was self serving in directing people to your blog. That is fine with me. It is boring for me to write about stuff I’ve already covered and so I often link my past articles to avoid that. What is not all right is to consistently hijack threads towards your own purposes and this is endemic to your production here. As others have been told we don’t do censorship at Jonathan Turley’s blog, but criticizing someone’s comments is not censorship. I suspect you have some resentment against guest bloggers and see us as the “in” crowd. That viewpoint always amuses me. All my life I have fought against “in crowd’s” and I certainly don’t misuse my perogatives to write here on weekends. If you comment here regularly you are in the “In Crowd” and it is not made up of only “guest bloggers”. AY, RWL, GBK, SwM, Blouise, BettyKath, LK, Bron, Nick S., and a host of others are all part of the “In Crowd” here. Why Jonathan chose the “guest bloggers” here was purely his decision and frankly I feel privileged to be one of them.
Finally, do you seriously think you are more perceptive about the “Fog of War” than OS and Larry? You aren’t and that is not a put down. This is a collaboration and all of us can learn something new from those who contribute. In this instance I believe that rather than making your contributions into a teaching experience, you went way over the top and made it into an attack that was nasty from start to present. Perhaps you might take my critiques seriously since you and I agree on so much and have complemented each other through the years. If not in the words of the Gestalt Prayer:
I do my thing and you do your thing.
I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
And you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.
If not, it can’t be helped.
Nick,
Thank you…..
Elaine M.,
Excellent point….. In which I tried to make….
Dredd,
One can be a pacifist/anti-war and still choose to remember family members and friends who died during wartime. Should we forget those whom we have loved who died in a war? If one takes time on Memorial Day to remember those loved ones and to decorate their graves doesn’t mean one is a supporter of war.
AY, Being a newcomer I was not aware of the loss of your son. It’s a tribute to both him and yourself the dignity you show every day here, and no doubt elsewhere. I’m better for having gotten to know you.