Letter to the Editor: Respect the military fallen

| 22 May 2023 | 05:37

    Monday is Memorial Day.

    Please be mindful that Memorial Day is NOT a time to celebrate anyone except those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the service of this great nation.

    Period.

    It is NOT “Veterans’ Day,” which occurs in November. Thank a vet on every other day of the year, but on Memorial Day, our thoughts and our memories should be with those American military personnel who died in defense of this great nation.

    To celebrate any living person with the flag of the United States of America on Memorial Day is enormously disrespectful to those military fallen who died defending it.

    And please: Don’t greet others with “Happy Memorial Day.” The holiday is funerary, not celebratory. It’s a time to reflect on the sacrifices made by others so that we can enjoy these sacrosanct freedoms which we all share here today, in America.

    Hundreds of thousands (likely over one million) of American soldiers have died for this country so that we can enjoy weekends like this one. Don’t dishonor them by flying flags for living and/or non-military persons.

    Earn the real sacrifices borne by our military’s fallen. Never forget them.

    Jay Westerveld

    Sugar Loaf