Who will remember if not you?

Tony Elliott – Special to The Garden Island

LIHU‘E — This year, by act of Congress, America celebrated Memorial Day on Monday, May 25. If you ask five different people what they did this Memorial Day, you can bet that their responses will include words like; “BBQ,” “beach,” “surfing,” and “Shopping.”

Now I’m not saying that spending quality time with your family isn’t a great way to enjoy a day off, but exactly what does any of these have to do with Memorial Day? Sadly, it appears that most of us have forgotten the true importance of this observance.

Growing up as a child, I learned that Memorial Day could be any day. It was the day that I stood in awe as our nation’s flag passed and I saw not only the flag but what it stood for, and thought that in the beginning all the world was America.

It was the day that I learned that our nation mourned the loss of her citizens who had died defending her for more than 200 years. It was also the day that I learned that these citizens, young and old, men and women, remained mostly anonymous except to the families who loved them.

But it was certainly also the day that I paused in wonder of our country’s loss when the last veteran would be gone and the nobility of his generation passed with him. Most importantly, it was the day that I realized that to our fallen veterans, Memorial Day is every day that someone remembers.

As a young marine, I learned that Memorial Day was really the essence of our thoughts, our feelings and our emotions. It was the overwhelming sense of patriotism that captured my breathe each time I heard the National Anthem. It was the pride that ran down my cheek as the local high school marching band played my service’s hymn.

It was the commitment I felt when I stepped forward to volunteer as an usher, as a color bearer or as an honor guard in some long-ago ceremony. It was the respect I felt as I served as a pallbearer and laid to rest yet another veteran.

It was the sense of duty I felt as I reverently saluted a folded flag that I had just placed in a loved one’s trembling arms while offering condolences on behalf of a grateful nation. And it was the solemn chill I felt as the somber notes of Taps tore at my very soul.

As an old veteran, I have learned that Memorial Day is the day that America’s veterans stand united in memory of our fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen who through their sacrifices, humble all of us who share their legacy. Those of us who have stood in the footsteps of these brave men and women need no reminder that Memorial Day is a day of duty, a day of remembrance, and a day of honor.

It is our duty to set aside our minor differences and petty jealousies, and stand together under our American flag in unity proud that we have worn, and continue to wear, our nation’s military uniform.

We remember our brothers and sisters who are unable to stand proudly with us because they did not come home. We remember their loved ones and the unthinkable sacrifices they continue to endure. We remember our fellow veterans, who whether due to failing health or misfortune need our help and support to ensure they are not left behind.

We honor every veteran by reaffirming our allegiance to our flag and to our country, and to upholding the sacred values passed to us by the brave men and women who served before us.

Perhaps the most profound tribute of all was made on the first national memorial observance on May 30, 1868 by then-General James A. Garfield when he said, “They summed up and perfected, by one supreme act, the highest virtues of men and citizens. For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and virtue.”

In closing, I would like to share the simple words of a great but humble American, Red Skelton, who reminded us, “In life, you don’t give till it hurts — but until it feels good.” On this and every Memorial Day, I don’t ask that you remember because it hurts, but because it feels good.

• SgtMaj USMC (Ret.) Tony Elliott is a member of the Hawai‘i Office of Veterans Services on Kaua‘i.