Living in Las Vegas: Observation #4: Memorial Day

On Monday, the most patriotic time of the year in the USA will commence.  In my world, this nationalistic season began on May 8, which was VE (Victory in Europe: WWII) Day, a day that I think should always be included in our American celebrations, but for most folks, the season will begin on Memorial Day.  I usually begin my festivities on Friday afternoon by stopping to see the disabled veterans who sell their beautiful poppies during all the patriotic holidays.  I give them a donation and they give me some lovely flowers that contrast splendidly with my hair.  Yesterday, I met a wonderful gentlemen who was wheelchair ridden and breathed from an oxygen tank 24/7.  I began asking him about his war days, about his favorite memories and about the pretty girls that he met a long the way.  He loved sharing his stories and I loved listening to them.  He seriously surprised me though when he told me that he was a paratrooper during World War II.  My response was, "Nuh uh. You're too young to have served in WWII!!"  He said, "Yeah huh.  I'm 88 years old."  Then he smiled a naughty little smile at me and asked, "What's your name?"  We talked for a little while and I liked him so much that I'll probably go back and buy some more poppies from him today.

I love talking to veterans of all wars because they have so many interesting stories to tell and they deserve to share their tales with someone who won't judge them for the quick decisions they had to make as they navigated the terror that is war. I always enjoyed listening to my great uncle, Wyatt Uriah Rainwater, Jr., talk about his time as an army medic.  I was enthralled with his recollection of the invasion at Normandy and how he had to swim to shore after the driver of his boat went missing.  I asked him how he survived while so many soldiers were dying all around him and I can still hear his voice saying, "With a little luck and lot of prayer." Those words touched me, and although I really miss Uncle Jr, who died in March 2002, I am so thankful that I took the time to listen to his experiences and to get a little insight into what he endured during his life.  We can learn a lot from our veterans, especially about how fortunate we are to be Americans where so many brave men and women are willing to fight and die for our country and our freedom.  

Although the Civil War sometimes sparks tensions between people and most folks tend to refrain from discussing it at all, it happened and most southerners have beloved family members who fought and died in that war.  My great-great-granddaddy, John Daniel Rainwater, enlisted in the Confederate Army on February 13, 1862, and was captured and held as a POW in the summer of 1863 at Island 10 during the Siege of Port Hudson in Louisiana.  He thankfully survived and went on to have many children with his wife, Rebecca, and, of course, I wouldn't be here if he hadn't persevered. Yep, I come from strong, southern stock! : ) 

While the Civil War is very controversial, the memory and service of the soldiers on both the Union and Confederate sides should always be honored and remembered.  The same should be said for veterans of the Vietnam Conflict (the USA has not declared actual war on any country since WWII so all military strikes after that were actually conflicts).  This was also a very controversial action taken by the US government but I am a firm believer that everyone should support the troops no matter what their opinion of the war is or what their political affiliation is.

There have been so many military altercations since this great country began and they haven't all been for the best reasons, but the people who fought in them were real.  They had families.  I know they didn't want to be separated from those families and they definitely didn't want to die.  But they stepped up.  They stepped up for you and for me and they should never be forgotten.  

Happy Memorial Day!  Now go get your poppies from some veterans and listen to their stories.  You'll be glad you did. 

Summer 2014 Patriotic Holidays to Remember:

VE Day - May 8

Memorial Day - May 26

Flag Day - June 14

Independence Day - July 4

Labor Day - September 1

Surrender of Japan Day - September 2

Patriot Day - September 11

American Wars and Conflicts/Deaths (This is not an exhaustive list and it's hard to get exact numbers because every source has different statistics.  Let's just agree that it's too many):

American Revolution - 25,000

War of 1812 - 20,000

Mexican-American War - 13,283

Civil War - 625,000

World War I - 116,516

World War II - 405,399

Korean Conflict - 35,516

Vietnam Conflict - 58, 209

Beirut - 266

Granada - 19

Panama - 40

Persian Gulf - 258

Afghanistan - 3,441

source:  www.militaryfactory.com