My Memorial Day

I realize that today is not actually Memorial Day; it is on Monday. But for me, today is my Memorial Day as it is the day where the meaning of the holiday actually strikes closest to home. I work in catering, we do all sorts of events but most often they are wedding receptions, especially right now as this is wedding season. Last night we had a rehearsal dinner for one particular couple, and then today is their wedding and we're doing their reception tonight as well.

If you're wondering why this is relevant, well, it's because the groom is in the army and about to be deployed to Iraq for his third tour and all of his groomsmen are soldiers as well. He proposed on Valentine's Day, they're getting married tomorrow, and he leaves soon for Iraq. They had to rush to plan a wedding in three months--it must have been an insane amount of work, but they wanted to be married before he deployed. Sweet, but also sad.

I ended up having to bartend last night (for the first time ever; there was a mix-up over whether they were having a bar) and while I was catering and then bartending, I overheard a bit. The only one I knew for certain was in the army was the groom, because my boss had explained their situation to me, but as soon as they all showed up I knew that at least all the men in the room were military. They all had that look. And then as I was walking among them, I kept overhearing snatches of conversation, words like, "platoon" and "NCO" and various other military-isms like that. The groom is leaving soon for Iraq--and I think that his groomsmen all are as well-- for the next in a series of multiple tours, and they all had a rather somber attitude. There was none of the usual boisterous laughter and joviality; they all sat around and talked quietly together. I'm not really sure how this evening will go; they ordered two kegs and a bar so there will be a large amount of alcohol imbibed, but I'm not sure if the solemn attitude will prevail or if they will forget their impending future for a short time and let go.

Anyways, my point in sharing this little anecdote with you is to mention that this is what really brings home the meaning in Memorial Day. It's seeing how war affects real people and their families, the suffering they go through and how it never really leaves them. That is why war should be ended, or even better, never begun in the first place. If that is not possible, then at least the American public should be aware of what happens in war, of all the people that are killed, maimed, wounded, their lives disrupted, their homes destroyed, the grief of their families. They should know that it is happening.