After the parade, the wreath laying and the speeches by local dignitaries, most of us went home and celebrated Memorial Day with a barbeque for friends and family. Many veterans of WW2 and the Korean War were part of these celebrations. For the most part they were low key participants in the festivities. They took their service for granted and most were reluctant to share memories of the horrors of war.
As the boomer generation grew older, we added the Vietnam war to our remembrances on the day of memory. Since then, our military has transitioned from a citizen soldier who served via the draft to an all volunteer force which has been mired in a never ending series of wars in the middle east and Afghanistan.
As a people, we have developed scar tissue on the national psyche. We now continuously memorialize the survivors of endless war in a way which minimizes these latest veterans' contributions and the failures of our foreign policy to bring about a more peaceful world. I don't have an easy solution to either of these conundrums, but I think it is worthwhile to give some thought to them on Memorial Day.
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