Memorial Day
If you have been reading this blog you now know that we dogs are avid readers and we love our countries as well as our owners. If humans showed as much love toward each other as we dogs show to everyone I am sure we wouldn’t have wars and the USA Memorial Day would never have been necessary.
General John Logan officially proclaimed Memorial Day on May 5, 1868. There is evidence that many women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil war in 1865. As I am sure most of you know the American Civil War resulted in 625,000 deaths and still ranks as our worst war as far as deaths. World War II had 405,399 deaths, and World War I had 116,516 deaths. What is amazing to me is the number of missing members of our armed forces in wars. There are 30,314 missing from World War II, 4,759 missing from the Korean War, 3,350 missing from World War I and 2,489 missing from the Vietnam War.
In 1925 Moina Michael was inspired by the poem “ In Flanders Fields” and she wrote her own poem:
We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.
She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial Day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. This tradition spread to other countries and the proceeds from selling artificial poppies that people pinned over their hearts went to the children of service people who had died. Sadly the poppy tradition, parades and memorials at cemeteries honoring those who died in the service of their Country are fewer each year.
I have one request for all of my dog friends out there as well as their owners. Please pause on Memorial Day to say a prayer for all of our fallen members of the military and then take a few minutes to place some flowers on the graves of the military at your local cemetery.
Thank you!
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