In Memoriam and In Celebration

CM Teammates: Great news – a three day weekend that kicks off summer is here! Weather’s getting warmer, days are getting longer and we get an extra day to enjoy it all…that’s the basic meaning of Memorial Day to most Americans – and that’s great – it’s what liberty enables us to do – celebrate! Just a little reminder that ye ole “Decorating Day” as they used to call it in the military – pertaining to decorating the graves of our fallen veteran brethren – has a special meaning to all those who have served and to family and friends of those who have served.

I remember being deployed to Bosnia in 1997 and celebrating Memorial Day “in the field”. An Army Colonel in the Special Forces (Green Berets) met with us to recount and extoll the stories of those who had gone before us and had paid the ultimate sacrifice for our great country. As we prepared for our mission, he reminded us that very few Americans have the privilege of serving our country let alone being the position to defend it. That not only do we have to act with honor on the field for those that have done so before us but also remember that there is another generation counting on us. Then he read us a note from child of a school that had been selected as our sponsor school while we were deployed – her note was simple and sweet, “Thank you for keeping me and my family safe – we love you.” She had added a couple of crayon pictures depicting hearts, sunshine, and her family. To an outsider that may not seem like much, but to those of us who were deployed (and especially those of us who were fathers at the time – I was not one of them) – it meant a whole helluva lot coming from someone we had never met nor probably would ever meet.

My point – have an Awesome Memorial Day and as you do, take a moment to thank a veteran in any way you can – from sending an e-mail to stopping by a national cemetery to greeting a Vet on the street – the simplest things in life often have the biggest impacts, and saying thanks to Vet can mean more than you can imagine.

Happy Memorial Day – GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS and, of course,
CHARLIE MIKE! ALDEN

N.B. Teammates, CM SEAL bloggers Tim Grizzell and Tom Rancich, two fellow veterans, will be sharing their Memorial Day reflections this weekend as well.