When I was a kid, I’m not sure I really recognized the significance of Memorial Day.

My father, my aunt and my uncle all served in WWII. Dad was stationed in the South Pacific. Like many of their generation, they never spoke of the war. They focused their lives on the here-and-now, and let the past be bygone. I’m sure they had more they preferred to forget, than to remember, about the war.

So for me as a child, Memorial Day meant watching as streams of musicians, fire departments, service men and women, cars and the occasional float streamed by. Later, it mean joining in one of those bands, first as a trombone player, then as a color guard. I began thinking about the patriotic music I was marching to and realized that the celebration in which I was participating was for our country, but that there was an entire other story behind the music and parade.

There was — and continues to be — the story of commitment to an ideal, and lives lost in pursuit of it. There are stories of service, courage and patriotism, families left behind, and lives changed, sometimes not for the better.There are so many stories we will never know.

So, on this Memorial Day, I salute my father (shown above in his Air Force Uniform) and his generation who served to save us from the perils we fought against in WWII.  I salute all who came before him, and all who have served since, including those who are currently serving our country. I wish, as most people do, that war could be eliminated. But as long as there are wars, there are heroes — those everyday people taking a pause in their normal lives to serve — who should be recognized, celebrated and commemorated.

To all of them I say “Thank You for your service.”

If you’d like to read the history of Memorial Day, originally called “Decoration Day,” for which Waterloo, NY is credited for originating, Click here.