Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in May with food, festivities, and sometimes beach outings, along with shopping for sales. Many people today view it primarily as a convenient holiday and a break from work because the experience of war and military loss feels distant. Earlier generations were more familiar with national and personal sacrifice, including veterans from World War II and the Korean War. In a small town, patriotic parades took place on Memorial Day, with school bands and local civic and youth groups marching. The parade ended at a cemetery with wreath laying, prayer, a 21-gun salute, and taps, creating a solemn remembrance of those who served.
"Because the experience of war, losing someone in war, military service, or even having a relative in the service is so foreign to most of us nowadays, it's hard to conceive of this convenient holiday on the last Monday in May being anything more than just a blessed day off, a break in the schedule of hard work with which we are all too familiar."
"My parent's generation were veterans of World War II, with the Korean War following right on its heels, so war and national and personal sacrifice were things they were very familiar with. I grew up in a small town upstate where patriotic parades took place on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veterans Day, with the school band marching down the village streets, followed by the local chapter of the American Legion, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the 4-H, the Grange, church groups, and anyone else who wanted to participate."
"Our parade began at the school, wound through the town, and ended at the village cemetery, where a very solemn ceremony of wreath laying took place, accompanied by prayer and a 21-gun salute fired by proud veterans. It ended with the lonely and poignant sound of taps echoing across the hills. My brother was one of the two trumpet players on opposite sides of the cemetery, one playing the echo to the other."
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