This Memorial Day: Remembering the Casualties of War

Memorial Day is a day to remember all those who lost their lives in the service of our country.

Both sides of our family have members of the family who have served in the military. We have ancestors/relatives who served in the Civil War, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and more recently served in the Iraq War and in Afghanistan.   Just one, Hubby’s Great Uncle Millard, lost his life at the age of 20 in WWII in the Pacific theater.  His siblings lived into their 90s; Millard has one younger sister who is still alive.

I came across a really fascinating website called PoppyField.org that shows how many lives were lost since the beginning of the twentieth century worldwide. That website is definitely worth a visit.

When we went to Manassas National Battlefield Park last month, we saw something similar that showed the American casualties during war.  I never realized that nearly as many American lives were lost during the Civil War as in all other wars combined!

A few years ago, we visited the site of another Civil War battle: Antietam.

The kids were truly saddened by all the graves. On that day (and this still makes me choke up), DD went along to each grave saying, “I’m sorry you died.”  To hear that over and over from my little girl was heart wrenching. (I think she was 7 at the time.)

It’s hard to think of much more to say after these sobering thoughts. I’ll close with John F. Kennedy’s famous quote:

“Ask not what your country can do for you– ask what you can do for your country.”