For many of us in Middletown Ohio this Memorial Day surely seemed like any other. The weather had not yet turned to warm, the parade wandered through town making its way to the cemetery just like it has done for years. Backyards across the city were filled with the smell of cookouts and the laughter of friends and family welcoming the start of another summer.However after my late afternoon trip this Memorial Day to Woodside Cemetery I was reminded that this is not just another holiday or another three day weekend. I was reminded that these markers from the picture above, lined up so neatly, and made to look so grand, represent the lives, the struggle, and the ultimate sacrifice of real people right here in our home town.
Sadly as the conflict in Iraq enters its fifth year our Memorial Day Holiday is slowly returning to more of the somber day of remembrance and prayer it was envisioned to be on its inception following the Civil War. Though I believe it is a good thing, and in our nature as Americans to take advantage of every opportunity we have to celebrate our freedom and our good fortune, it cannot be a bad thing for us to remember this day for what it really is.
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