Shelter Island Reporter Editorial: Lest we forget

Memorial Day has struggled to keep its original meaning. But the day has recovered some of its essence because of the rising number of dead Americans a younger generation of families will remember this weekend for their service during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this last, long, bloody decade and a half.

Still, the day has faded for most Americans, with fewer and fewer towns and cities even bothering to hold public acknowledgement of the fallen, let alone parades.

Officially sanctioned tributes to the fallen goes back at least as far as Homer and is present in every culture. The genesis of our own Memorial Day is murky, with many different places in the country claiming to be the first to officially memorialize dead soldiers.

Officially our Memorial Day came about 147 years ago this month when a general order came down to place flowers on both the Union and Confederate dead at Arlington National Cemetery.

Lincoln’s  Second Inaugural speech gave the country direction in the aftermath of  the Civil War, and a clue to how future generations should act: “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive … to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan …”

What Lincoln meant is that we’ll remember those who died, but should also never forget those who have served and lived to tell about it. It’s been said that a society can be judged on how it treats its oldest and youngest citizens. One more judgment call should be how veterans are treated.

By that measure we certainly haven’t done enough, with many veterans aged 18 to 24 looking for work.
Unemployment for some veterans means the bottom has fallen out, with the government reporting that on any given night in America, close to 70,000 veterans are homeless. This has improved, from a high of close to 200,000 veterans on the streets in 2006, according to the Congressional Research Service, but still …

We’re lucky here, for many reasons, and one is that Shelter Island hasn’t forgotten what the day at this crossroad of seasons signifies for veterans.

Come to the parade Monday, and enjoy the beginning of summer with a free barbecue provided by the Lions Club and ice cream by the Amercian Legion. Remember all who served, especially those who died wearing American uniforms, and their families who carry on bravely without them.