Remembering Memorial Day
By Letters To The Editor Calvin E. Johnson, Jr. (05/19/06)
Did you know Monday, May 29, is Memorial Day?
Growing up near Atlanta, I remember the sound of taps coming
from Fort McPherson on a warm summer night. My heroes have
always been cowboys, policemen, firemen and soldiers.
John Wayne, my favorite actor, was not able to serve in the military
in World War II but he stood tall for the American soldier in his
movies.
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
To me, Memorial Day is about people like my Uncle Lewis
who served his country as a Marine during World War II. He fought
in such famous battles as Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal. He also
served in Korea and was in the Inchon landing.
Memorial Day, to me, is about patriots like;
George Washington who led his troops in prayer before they
crossed the Delaware River on a cold-snowy night to surprise
the British and Hessian troops on December 26, 1776. They
gained a great victory in the worse of conditions.
It is about March, 1836, when a small band of men at the Alamo
stood between Santa Anna's 5,000 man army and the unprepared
small army of Sam Houston. In the lonely monastery were
Davy Crocket, Jim Bowie and less than two hundred men.
On their last night on earth the men of the Alamo prayed that their
battle would, somehow, lead to victory even though they would die.
Their prayer was answered a few days later at San Jacinto. Houston
defeated Santa Anna with the battle cry of, "Remember the Alamo!"
It is about the year 1861, when one nation became two nations. The
United States Congress would recognize this war between Americans
as "The War Between the States." Since the end of that war in 1865,
the Confederate Battle Flag has become the blood brother of the
flag of the United States as the south has fought with her brothers
and sisters to keep this nation free.
It is about February 1898 when the United States battleship Maine
was blown up in Havana Harbor with 300 dead. The Spanish-
American war brought Teddy Roosevelt's "Roughriders" to Cuba
to charge up San Juan Hill to victory. Old Joe Wheeler, an ex-
Confederate Cavalry General, was there with him. It is written that
Wheeler got excited and forgot, which war he was in. He shouted,
"There they are, go get those Yankees!"
It is about Sunday, December 7, 1941, and the first word of the
attack on Pearl Harbor came over the radio. That Sunday would be
called a "day of infamy."
It is about those who died in Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Desert
Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq.
It is about September 11, 2001, when our nation was once again
attacked.
Lest We Forget America's soldiers on Memorial Day!
Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.
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