Comments on: Memorial Day v. Veterans Day

By: B. Minich

B. Minich — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:47:54 +0000

The British do a better job at this than we do - Armistice Day gets everyone wearing red poppies to remember the people in the war. Plus, this probably adds to the confusion over the holidays - people in other countries view November 11th as a combination of honoring soldiers, living and dead (mostly those who died). Even though most Americans don't know this, I'm sure they come across this idea from time to time ("Veteran's Day around the world" segments on the news and such.

By: PD Shaw

PD Shaw — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:09:16 +0000

James, Rev. Sensing appears to disagree. My earliest memories of Memorial Day are decorating the gravesite of my grandfather who died three decades after fighting in WWII. Plus, as I understand the national cemetery policy appears to be to place a flag on the grave of all veterans, not merely those who died in service.

Also, the Civil War veterans used Memorial Day/Decoration Day by the end of the nineteenth century in a way that gave honor to veterans in general.

By: James Joyner

James Joyner — Tue, 26 May 2009 11:02:58 +0000

how might you rate the appropriateness of using today to honor someone (my undergraduate advisor) who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, but who has now passed?

It's not what the holiday was designated for but it seems an entirely appropriate thing to do.

By: Professor Chaos

Professor Chaos — Tue, 26 May 2009 05:59:25 +0000

James,
I honestly never realized that Memorial Day was specifically/solely for those who died in combat; how might you rate the appropriateness of using today to honor someone (my undergraduate advisor) who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, but who has now passed?

Just curious about the nuances of all this ...

By: Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson — Tue, 26 May 2009 03:18:41 +0000

Of course, the real irony is that the United States now has two separate days to honor members of what the Founding Fathers considered abhorrent--a standing army.

By: markm

markm — Tue, 26 May 2009 02:51:19 +0000

Of course, for the vast majority of Americans, these are simply “days off”

That may be true....or...I live in a small town bubble where everything was Red White and Blue, there were WWII era flyovers and, EVERYBODY, cheering those that served via small town parade. True or not, i'll stick with my small town midwest flavor of what memorial day means.

By: tom p

tom p — Tue, 26 May 2009 01:03:19 +0000

My father lost any # of friends over Japan and almost lost his own life on more than a few occasions. It was pure luck that he came back and not them.

I honor all of them on this day.

By: flypay

flypay — Mon, 25 May 2009 22:07:58 +0000

Poor is the nation who has no heroes.
Poorer still is the nation which has them but forgets them. - Churchill

By: Triumph

Triumph — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:59:09 +0000

and Veterans Day, which honors those who served in the military.

This is actually an afterthought. The advocates of "Veterans Day" hijacked Armistice Day--which commemorated the end of the Great War. Since WWI vets are basically all deceased we can stop celebrating so-called "Veterans" nee Armistice Day. I would suggest that we scrap Nov. 11th and shift to honoring more recent vets in the form of "Mission Accomplished Day," May 1. That way we get to celebrate our victory over Iraq and we likewise would get two days off in May.

By: G.A.Phillips

G.A.Phillips — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:38:51 +0000

You mean you don't get funny looks before you even open your mouth...

Hey, lol, maybe thats it....

By: An Interested Party

An Interested Party — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:26:14 +0000

You should see some of the funny looks I get because I say happy Independence day instead of happy 4th.

You mean you don't get funny looks before you even open your mouth...

By: G.A.Phillips

G.A.Phillips — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:09:12 +0000

Of course, for the vast majority of Americans, these are simply “days off” and accorded all the reverence and reflection we reserve for any other holiday.

You should see some of the funny looks I get because I say happy Independence day instead of happy 4th.

By: Bill H

Bill H — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Which is why I fly a flag on every national holiday except Memorial Day. I have no way to fly it at half mast.

And I do believe the phrase is "who died in the service of their nation." I may be in error on that, but that is the way I treat the day.

By: Anderson

Anderson — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:27:57 +0000

which is set aside to honor those who died in combat Is this right? What about, say, the Civil War dead who died of disease? I would say that even those who die in modern-day training accidents die "in service," which ought to suffice.

By: Memorial Day – Around the Internets « Beagle Scout

Memorial Day – Around the Internets « Beagle Scout — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:07:01 +0000

[...] Memorial Day v. Veterans DayI’ve seen a few gripes on Twitter and elsewhere about President Obama and others seeming not to understand the difference between Memorial Day, which is set aside to honor those who died in combat, and Veterans Day, which honors those who served in the military. This has long been a pet peeve of mine but the [...] by James Joyner [...]