Memorial Day - SJO Daily

Commentary: The reminder of Memorial Day

dani — Mon, 25 May 2020 13:52:47 +0000

By Jason Schifo Memorial Day, is set aside on the last Monday of May, today, to honor all the men and women who have died while serving in our military. It originated after the Civil War, which ended in the spring of 1865, and claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history up to that point, and thus required the establishment of the first of our national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans in various cities and towns had begun holding special ceremonies in the spring to remember these fallen soldiers, going out to the cemetaries, gathering together to pray and pay our respects for their sacrifice. Originally known as Decoration Day, it became an official federal holiday in 1971. Unofficially, Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember those he gave their lives for the sake of freedom, also marks the beginning of the summer season. It is in this tension that our forgetfulness begins to creep in. A veteran of the first World War said in 1913, “there is a tendency to forget the purpose of Memorial Day and make it a day for games, races and revelry, instead of a day of memory and tears.” Even then there was a sense that the meaningfulness of Memorial Day was slipping through the American conscience. One constant truth that I have found in my nearly 50 years of life is that the things that I fail to remember, is often what I tend to repeat. Do you have the same experience? Woody Allen famously said, and it has stuck with me, “The reason history repeats itself, is because I didn’t remember the first time around.” On Memorial Day we celebrate our freedom, but often we have a tendancy to enjoy the fruit of these freedoms and forget the reason for our freedom. Freedom isn’t free, and it always has a cost and a price. Freedom only appears to be free when you fail to remember what it cost. As Winston Churchill famously said: “A nation that forgets its heroes will itself soon be forgotten itself.” In this case the cost was the lives of brave men and women across time. So my question for you today is this: Without the formal gatherings to remember, which have been cancelled due to the pandemic, will you be intentional to take time inbetween the burgers, bratwursts and watermelon, to thank God for the men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom? If we are not intentional to acknowledge, to remember the reason we enjoy these freedoms we will find ourselves not only falling into the trap of believing freedom is free, but in the process will forget who we are as a nation. In the Bible, Joshua 3:1-3, tells us the story of the Israelites on their way from slavery to freedom, and into the Promised Land. Joshua tells us that when they came to the Jordan river, they lodged there before passing through the river with God’s divine help. After this miracle Joshua sent a representative from each of the Twelve Tribes to take a stone from the river bed where they had just crossed, and set up a memorial, as a remembrance of what God accomplished for His people on that day. Those stones served the people of Israel in two ways. First and formost, it reminded them of their being led from slavery to freedom. Second, it reminds us that we forget far too easy, and are in need of memorials to serve as reminders. But the most important lesson regarding reminders comes in Joshua chapter 4, verses 6-7 which says, “When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them…” The purpose of the memorial stones was not just to serve as a reminder, but also as an opportunity to tell a story. The passage impresses upon us that this memorial will cause the children to ask, “What do these stones mean to you?” If we do not take this time to remember, the children will not ask “why?”, and we inturn will not have the oportunity to tell, and forgotten among the generations will be the very reason for the freedoms we so enjoy. This is why over the last eight years I have made it a point to bring my children to the annual Memorial Day gatherings here in Mahomet. I believe they need to shake the hands of brave men and women, thank them for their service, all the while paying honor to those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of freedom. I remember a number of years ago my son had the honor of meeting Art Leeneerman, one of the last remaining survivors of the 1945 USS Indianapolis tragedy. To this day we still talk about the experiences that Art shared with us, and as we remember my other son, Samuel, asks about Art. We can’t forget Art because we have chosen to tell his story; we have chosen to remember. To each and every one of you, from servicemen to spouses, sons and daughters, everyone who has served and supported, I give you my thanks today!

The post Commentary: The reminder of Memorial Day first appeared on SJO Daily.

Commentary: The American worth fighting for

Dani Tietz — Tue, 28 May 2019 16:02:44 +0000

BY DANI TIETZ
dani@sjodaily.com

It is always a solemn morning.

No matter what the weather, how many people show up or what is said, lingering over Memorial Day, there is always someone missing as we gather to reflect on what America has been and what it is becoming.

This year’s ceremonies on May 27 were no different.

Dozens of people gathered at local ceremonies, pausing for just a moment to honor those who served, are serving and those who never returned to their loved ones and to their homes.

After attending two ceremonies, I returned home, flipping through Facebook, only to find myself in question the rest of the day.

A post read, “If you want to thank our military, be the kind of American worth fighting for.”

It’s one of those posts you can’t disagree with. Yes, let’s all be the type of American worth fighting for. Then, the question for me becomes what is the type of American worth fighting for?

Is it the American who promotes only the goodness in the world? Or is it the one who sees injustice and works to fight to right the wrongs? Is the American worth fighting for the one who goes to church? Or the one who volunteers their time?

Could the American worth fighting for be the one who donates large sums of money to charities, yet overcharges their customers? Or is it the one who sits homeless on the street, wondering where his or her next meal will come from?

Are the ones worth fighting for the teachers? The students? The parents? The governors or the governed? The ones who are 100-percent honest all the time or the ones who show you what they want you to see on social media and then lead a completely different life behind the scenes?

Are they the ones who dress nice and act nice yet throw a friend to the side at a whim, or the ones who have a few friends, but are loyal? Are they the Americans who have never committed a crime or those who bend the law here and there, but never make it behind bars?

Is it one President over another? Are the ones worth fighting for the ones who aren’t racist, bigots, homophobes, or are they the ones who only look another up and down to see if they measure up to a standard?

And who gets to decide?

Who gets to say that this is someone worth fighting for while someone else is not? Who sets the standards? And more importantly, is there anyone who actually lives up to those standards?

Maybe it was just a general call to Americans: do right, all of you; we have men and women out there fighting so that you can do, say, think and live as you please. If you really want to give back to them, then pause to think about how you are living your life. Does it reflect a human being worth fighting for?

I guess what struck me the most is that my daughter’s boyfriend will return to base this week to fight for everyone, no matter what. He may or may not agree with everyone’s life choices, but that’s not what he’s actually fighting for. He’s there to ensure that everyone can make those choices; because that is something worth fighting for.

The post Commentary: The American worth fighting for first appeared on SJO Daily.

Homer, Ogden and Royal to host Memorial Day Services

Dani Tietz — Wed, 22 May 2019 19:44:26 +0000

Homer, Ogden and Royal will host Memorial Day Service on May 27, 2019. The ceremonies will include a service, food and community.

May 26

Royal
The Royal American Legion will host a Memorial Day Service on Sunday May 26 at Kopmann cemetery at 10 and then in Royal at 11. This service is weather pending.

May 27

Homer

The Homer American Legion and Legion Auxiliary host their annual Memorial Day Service on Memorial Day. The ceremony begins with an 11 am service at GAR Cemetery and is followed by a wonderful smorgasbord at the Village Hall.

Ogden

Service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the American Legion Park, corner of East Main and North East Avenue, Ogden. In case of rain, the event will be at the Ogden United Methodist Church.

The post Homer, Ogden and Royal to host Memorial Day Services first appeared on SJO Daily.