“What are you doing for Memorial Day weekend?” is a common question asked this week. Many will spend time with family and friends, plan picnics, outings, or simply relaxing. As a nation, we are called to reflect on the true meaning of this national holiday, which is to honor and recognize America’s military personnel who died serving our Country. Commemorating lives lost is a practice that we at San Diego Hospice embrace and support for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one.
Rituals of remembrance surrounding Memorial Day are a reflection of how we mourn individually and as a society. Liane Fry, a licensed marriage and family therapist at The Center for Grief Care and Education, wrote in a recent blog post that “…acts of mourning seem rooted in our need to give form to feelings and thoughts, to concretely honor the deceased, and to demonstrate what the deceased mean to us. Further, these acts also serve, whether intentionally or as a by-product, to draw a community of grievers together.” This explanation can describe the power and purpose of Memorial Day.
To strengthen the tradition of honoring America’s fallen military on Memorial Day, and to ensure that their heroic sacrifices are never forgotten, “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,”was signed into law in 2000. The National Moment of Remebrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time, on Memorial Day, for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to our nation.
For San Diegans the website SanDiego.com also features Memorial Day observances and events taking place locally, and offers the following tips on how to observe Memorial Day:
- Visit cemeteries and place flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
- Visit memorials.
- Fly the US Flag at half-staff until noon.
- Fly the ‘POW/MIA Flag’ as well (Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act).
- Participate in a “National Moment of Remembrance” at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for Taps to be played.
- Renew a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.
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