A day not to memorialize?

Today was tough. I never really knew how my Dad felt about Memorial Day. When I was in middle school and played with the band at the parade, my Dad was a member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in northern Michigan where we lived. He always seemed to march proudly even though I do remember it raining alot on Memorial Day. I also remember the hot dogs and baseball. :)

I asked my Dad if he went to any parades today and the answer gave me an idea of what my Dad really felt about past Memorial Days....and the future ones. He said he never really liked today since he got home from Vietnam. My Dad fought in the Vietnam War, his Dad in the Korean War and I'm sure I'm the only male in the Burtch family tree that hasn't fought in some form of war or battle. My disconnect to fighting for my country may be similar to my Dad's disconnect to wanting to remember that he did fight for his country. The 1960's were not kind to veterans. They may be the only generation that were truly not appreciated for sacrificing their lives for the red, white and blue. The veterans who fought in World War II are known as, "The Greatest Generation" because of what their difference did for our country. The Vietnam War only set us back and caused hate, rioting, protests, uncertainty and a mistrust for a government that thought they were doing what was right. Sound familiar?

My Dad still feels resentment toward the government because of how him and his friends were treated....the ones that came back alive. It's not exactly a feeling that makes him want to take a day off and receive thanks since the government, in Dad's words, still hasn't properly thanked them yet. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and celebration for the freedoms that we have and I'm thankful for what I have. I do wish that we could go back in time and right that wrong....no one should be spat upon for going and doing what they are told is right.

My friend, Josh Shelton and his wife Sara, will probably not remember Memorial Day in the same way either. My thoughts and prayers are with them as they struggle to find the answer to the worst open-ended question in history. "Why?" Today, tears are shed for memories that occured recently and in the past but the hurt is the same. God comforts us with his open arms and the strength of good friends but the pain, I imagine, is sometimes too much to bear. I ask, whoever may read this and I don't know who does, that you pray for the Shelton's and all of those that are asking the question, "Why?"