yours truly, in a previous career – circa 1993.Memorial Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (in 2008 on May 26). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who perished while in military service to their country. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War, it was expanded after World War I to include casualties of any war or military action.
For me at least, Memorial Day is about much more than just cookouts: Without the courage of young American men who came to Europe to fight the Nazis, I would have been born in a German-speaking France. Or perhaps not at all.
Though I was born in 1971, I grew up in the shadow of WWII: My grandfather was a Cavalry Officer in both WWI and WWII. A hefty chunk of my family on my Mother’s side was killed by the Nazis. I grew up in France, surrounded by memorials, military cemeteries and the pockmarked landscapes of Normandie, Ypres and the Ardennes. Think old bunkers, craters and fields of white crosses like the photo below. My mother, who was 11 when Allied troops finally landed and remembers the war all too well, still – to this day – keeps an emergency supply of sugar and butter… just in case, I don’t know, the Germans decide to give it another go.
I grew up with the paratroopers’ prayer framed over my bed, and the annual ritual of having my father let me hold my grandfather’s medals. (The Legion d’Honeur and the Croix de Guerre.) I grew up with countless stories of sacrifice and courage and bravery. I grew up with a profound love for all things American, simply because long ago, decades before I was born, thousands of them crossed the Atlantic to come save us… and died on our beaches and in our fields.
What does this have to do with branding? Very little… but it’s Memorial Day and I never let it go by without thinking about the daily sacrifices made by men and women in uniform. To those who can’t be with their loved ones today, and to the families of the fallen, I say thank you.
And Thank You to all who serve and have served in the United States Armed Forces – not just on this day, but every day.
Je me souviens.
Thank you so much for writing this. I had an uncle who was one of those who stormed the beaches or Normandy. I appreciate you so much for sharing your perspective. I would like to share that I have made it a habit to watch Saving Private Ryan on this day every year as a way to remember.
I am not a girl who thinks a lot about the military. It has touched my life *some* – my Daddy was a paratrooper in the Army, long before I was born, and I heard some stories about that. I have an Army magazine where he is on the cover, with his chute all tangled up in a tree. My ex-husband’s father is still considered MIA – his plane went down over Laos while he was in the womb, so he never knew his father and that would color the rest of his life, and even the 9 years we were married, as information from the government continually came in. The body has still not been recovered, though there have been numerous attempts and leads. This is a webpage dedicated to him: http://vnvmc-cai.com/2007/03/24/mitchell-o-sadler/
I have a much better insight about your feelings on military activities and conversations you’ve engaged in on Twitter, having read this. One would never have known that in addition to serving, you grew up surrounded by both the realities and the lore of military service and war-time activities. It’s also really interesting to hear your perspective as a non-American.
In addition to the remembrance, I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day, Olivier!
Захватывающе. Зачет! и ниипет!