Memorial Day 2016 arrives on Monday. It’s a holiday that remembered Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. Eventually, the holiday honored veterans of all foreign wars. Last September, I visited Arlington National Cemetery and the Vietnam War Memorial. The cemetery is the final resting place for soldiers from the Civil War and other military conflicts.
While
at Arlington, I visited the graves of Audie Murphy, Lee Marvin, John F.
Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Ira Hayes, a Marine who helped place the American
flag on Mount Suribachi during the battle for Iwo Jima. The flag raising photograph
has become an American icon. I also visited the grave of Medal of Honor winner
John Basilone, who died at Iwo Jima.
Before
leaving, I watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier. As I left the cemetery, I could almost hear these deceased warriors
telling me to never forget that my freedom came at a cost.
I
then visited the Vietnam War Memorial. The wall lists 58,000 deceased men who died
in the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam. I spoke to a volunteer who had
served in Vietnam. He said that many Vietnam veterans return to say goodbye to
their buddies who didn’t make it home.
Of all the veterans, the Vietnam War
veteran has a special place in my heart for two reasons. One, my father spent
two combat tours in Vietnam. Two, like other war veterans, America didn’t
consider my father and his Vietnam War brethren heroes. Instead, they were
called “baby killers” or murderers.
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