Memorial Day

Memorial Day
Memorial Day

Memorial Day

Memorial Day Quotes and Memorial Day Stories
Memorial Day Quotes

We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.
- Francis A. Walker

Decoration Day
by Thelly Reahm © Tidbits of Time
1995

Time was, when millions of Americans placed flowers on the graves of family
members and war heroes...it was called Decoration Day. The custom was begun
in 1865 in Waterloo, New York, to commemorate those killed in action in the
Civil War. After WW I, Congress decreed May 30th a national holiday to
honor the dead in all American wars. Disabled Veterans sold poppy's each
holiday to raise funds for Veterans Hospitals (from the words about poppy's
wave in Flanders Field). In 1971 lawmakers moved the holiday to the last
Monday in May in order to give Federal workers a three-day weekend....I
don't
know for sure, but it was probably done at midnight on the last day Congress
was in session.

In the Thirties I used to tiptoe across the granite markers at Loma Vista
Cemetery as a child. Somehow, walking on the raised mounds of grass made me
queasy. Decoration Day was a whole family outing. The flowers we placed on
our family's graves were fresh picked from our yards and gently placed in
rusty vases set into the hard ground. Sweet Peas, Stock, Snap Dragons and
even the lowly yellow nasturtiums that wandered over the edge of the wash
out back of our house would make a colorful bouquet....we grew them well.
Then we weeded around our family gravestones and polished the marker until
we could see our faces in them. There was Grampa Hyder, Uncle Ed, Cousin
Lawrence (shot in the hunting accident when he was twelve) and Grandpa and
Grandma Miller (my half-brother's grandparents) and Cousin Ouita who died
in Alaska.

It was a bit different then than today....there's more of a
military flavor now to the happenings, with bands and marching Scout Troups.
Perhaps because we've had so many more wars. And now the fields of grass
are strewn with plastic flowers. Not all change is good.

For those of you with strong family ties or a bent toward continuing these
stories or our genealogy program in the computer, I feel it is important
for you to know the burial places of your ancestors.

I, personally, have willed my body to the University of California San
Diego (La Jolla Campus) for medical study. After any organs are used for
transplant or study, the remainder will be cremated and the ashes
scattered at sea. I find it a bit poetic that in life I couldn't swim a
stroke, but in death I will become a water baby!

So, there won't be a graveside of mine for you to place memorial flowers,
or weeds to trim around a granite stone. You needn't clutter your mind with
a dim memory of where my plot is. Most of us are so distraught at a
Memorial Service that we can't begin to remember the location of our loved
one's casket laden with flowers. And as the list of our family members
denotes, the body has been placed in a cemetery near the town in which
they died. If you have moved away from that area it is all the more
difficult.

Instead I am giving you a different kind of memorial. I give my book of
memories "Tidbits of Time" and this poem penned just for you:

Scattered At Sea

I will be in the waves you ride,
on the morning tide....

I will be in the warm, coarse sand
you smooth with your hand....

I will be on the soaring wings,
of the bird that sings.....

I will be diadems in waves
As they flow in caves....

I will be in the night moon glade,
And damp morning shade....

I'll be the wind that holds the crest,
so you'll be blessed....

I'm now the beach in many ways,
In sun or fogbound haze....

Then I'll be gone like ebbing tide,
But memories will abide....

I want my life to go on having meaning and purpose after I am gone, and
because I believe that I will be home with the Lord in Heaven the instant my
heart ceases to give life, I have no regret in giving my empty, pain ridden
body for Science to study.

I am not here. I did not die spiritually. This is not the end. I have
life everlasting.

Eternity is mine.

This is what you are to remember about me on Memorial Day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope this reminds you of things you might want to write about for Memorial
Day.

It's important to leave our values and traditions to the next generation.

Write on,
Thelly, the Storylady, Cardiff by the Sea

Memorial Day Stories


One for all Military for those who have been in conflict or been away from friends, family and loved ones all over the

world. And for those who have fought and died. As I approach the gates of heaven; St. Peter I will tell; one more

soldier reporting sir;I've served my time in Hell.
-- Mark Anthony Gresswell

Memorial Day

Stories

I have often asked myself why human beings have any rights at all. I always come to the conclusion that human

rights, human freedoms, and human dignity have their deepest roots somewhere outside the perceptible world.

These values are as powerful as they are because, under certain circumstances, people accept them without

compulsion and are willing to die for them.

-- Vaclav Havel

Patriotic Quotes

National Memorial Day Concert 2005
May 29 at 8 p.m.
On the eve of Memorial Day, an annual tradition honors the bravery and sacrifice of America's servicemen and

women with the top-rated, multi-award winning concert broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

Dedicated to all the Americans who have served or made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, the event features

acclaimed actors Joe Mantegna and Charles Durning, and maestro Erich Kunzel leading the National Symphony

Orchestra. This year's concert will honor the 60th anniversary of Iwo Jima and pay tribute to troops serving in Iraq

and Afghanistan. The concert features uplifting musical performances, documentary footage and dramatic readings

that honor the pain and suffering that America has endured for generations in its military efforts to preserve its

freedoms.

Love Quotes

Memorial Day Cheesecake

Memorial Day Recipes

16 servings

Crust:
1 1/2 cup of low-fat graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon of oil, melted
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Filling:
1 envelope of unflavored gelatin
1 cup of skim milk
16 ounces of fat-free cream cheese, softened
3 ounces of fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of lemon peel, grated
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
2 cups of frozen blueberries
4 cups of frozen raspberries

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Prepare a jelly roll pan with cooking spray; set
aside. To prepare crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, oil, and 3 tablespoons
sugar. Pat crumb mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 10
minutes; cool. In a saucepan, combine gelatin and milk. Let stand 2 minutes. Then,
heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved. Cool to
room temperature; set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, lemon
juice, lemon peel, vanilla extract, and remaining sugar. Add milk mixture. Pour
entire mixture over baked crust. Refrigerate until set, 4 hours. Notes: To
serve, decorate to look like a flag, using the blueberries for the stars, and the
raspberries for the stripes

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Memorial Day - Del

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