Memorial Day

I get pretty emotional on Memorial Day.

It's probably because I was raised in an era where we were taught the Pledge of Allegiance and "The Star Spangled Banner" right from kindergarten. My parents instilled in me the value of this country and the respect for the men who fought for it.

Every Memorial Day, my father donned his uniform and proudly marched in a parade and then stood at attention for the ceremony at the graves of soldiers who lost their lives. He would have been so proud to have seen his own funeral with the regiment of veterans who stood at attention, fired a 21-gun salute and played taps.

There are two places I've been that have moved me beyond words. The first was the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. The other was Ground Zero in New York City. Both move me not because of politics or religion, but because of the number of people who died in the name of Freedom.

I'm old enough that I still remember where I was and what I was doing when President Kennedy was shot. And now I, along with the rest of the nation, will always remember that Tuesday morning getting ready for work, hearing Katie Couric announce that a plane had hit the World Trade Center, and then the realization a few precious minutes later that it was not just a freak accident. The horror of watching everything unfold that day will haunt many of us. Hopefully we will never forget and always remember the brave firefighters who never hesitated going into those towers, knowing that there was a chance they might not come back out. I'm certainly not made of that kind of stuff but I admire and revere it.

I also will never forget the first Gulf War, when my only son was in the Navy. He was in training at the time but because it was top-secret he was never allowed to tell me where he was or what he was doing. I arrived at work bleary-eyed many times during that period of time from being up most of the night watching television reports on the war. Only recently has he given any indication of what he was doing and I wish I still didn't know to this day!

Yes, I'm pretty emotional this year about Memorial Day. Maybe it's because I never thought to thank my dad for the sacrifices he made in World War II or appreciate what saluting our flag means or appreciate how moving the words to "The Star Spangled Banner" are.

I think I'm going to travel to my dad's grave this weekend and have a little talk with him.