Originally published in the Brunswick Beacon on April 17, 2025.
https://www.newsargus.com/brunswick_beacon/news/thoughts-on-memorial-day/article_53475399-d161-5fa3-9205-5e3ff053af99.html
THOUGHTS ON MEMORIAL DAY
by Eric Mens
Many of us may remember learning the poem “In Flanders Fields” when we were of school age. The poem by Canadian John McCrae (1872-1918) continues to be recited in Memorial Day ceremonies across America. McCrae served in both the South African War and World War I, and died of pneumonia near the end of World War I.
IN FLANDERS FIELDS
by John McCrae
In Flanders’ fields, the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders’ fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ Fields.
In America, Memorial Day as we know it today, originated from Decoration Day, first celebrated on May 30, 1868. The national day of solemn remembrance honored the thousands of Civil War soldiers from both North and South who died during the war. People honored their sacrifices with parades and speeches and decorated their graves with flowers and wreaths. By the end of World War I, Decoration Day became a national day to honor all who had fallen in America’s wars.
After World War II, Decoration Day became more commonly known as Memorial Day, but the name was only officially enacted into law in 1967. On June 28, 1968, Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th President of the United States (1963-1969), signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which, among other federal holiday changes, formally made Memorial Day the last Monday in May. The law went into effect in 1971 and effectively created several three-day holiday weekends. Johnson’s statement accompanying his signing of the bill into law stated in part, “… It will enable families who live some distance apart to spend more time together. Americans will be able to travel farther and see more of this beautiful land of ours. They will be able to participate in a wider range of recreational and cultural activities.” Indeed, Memorial Day also marks the beginning of the summer holiday season.
While many of us celebrate the onset of summer through family gatherings and outings, we should forever be mindful of the holiday’s original intent – to honor the sacrifices and memories of the thousands of men and women who have fallen in service to our country. Memorial Day is a time for us to reflect on the memories we share of those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to express the debt of gratitude we owe them to be able to carry on with our lives and livelihoods freely. Many other countries similarly honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their respective country.
As a child growing up in my adopted country of America, I lived in an era when television shows like Combat, Victory at Sea, Sea Hunt, and other World War II documentaries were popular. The scenes of dead soldiers and civilians alike and the destruction of entire towns and cultures both horrified and mesmerized me. But, somehow, within me stirred the embers of the nobleness of those who fought for a greater good – the right for all people, irrespective of race, color, or religion, to live in peace free of the tyranny of dictators and those complicit in the deaths of thousands of innocent people. In some small way, I became aware of a much larger world outside the confines of my own life.
During those preadolescent days, the music of Glenn Miller’s American Patrol, Moonlight Serenade, In the Mood, and the like filled my house on weekends. As the music wafted through the air, my father sat still, seemingly lost, deep in thought. I knew that I best not disturb him. I had not yet made the connection between music and my father’s life.
It was only shortly before he died that my father, a Dutch Navy veteran, confided in me about his experiences as a Japanese Prisoner of War and enslaved laborer in a Japanese shipyard outside of Nagasaki (Camp 26). He also briefly spoke of our family’s privileged lives before the war. Unlike many of the US and Allied forces and civilians who were killed or exterminated during World War II, my father, like so many other surviving millions, struggled to regain and maintain any ‘normalcy’ of life following the war. Expelled from the country where my family had lived for generations (Dutch East Indies), we lost virtually all our material possessions, homes, and status.
My personal connection to WW II is fundamental to recognizing the need to honor all those who died in that war, as well as the wars and conflicts that followed, like Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. As a Vietnam veteran who served as a combat medic with the 1st Cavalry Division (’67-’68), I lost friends and family in the war of our generation.
On Memorial Day, in particular, I remember Ernie Jones, a friend and fellow medic, the only child of a Michigan dairy farmer, who died on a medevac mission a month before I finished my tour in Vietnam. I remember Richard Repole, an Eagle Scout and high school friend who died two years later when he stepped on a Bouncing Betty mine while walking point, and I remember Donald Tisi, my wife’s cousin, who died in an ambush while on patrol. We were all young and soldiers once.
On Memorial Day, I also honor all Vietnam veterans who continue to fall as a result of Agent Orange exposure. The potent defoliant directly affected those of us who survived Vietnam and also the lives of many who were not directly involved in the conflict – the wives and children of soldiers afflicted by Agent Orange. In my humble opinion, it is only appropriate to honor all who have died in our wars as well as in the aftermath of our wars. Never forget.
Eric Mens is the Public Affairs Officer for the John E. Jacobs American Legion Post 68 Leland. Post 68 meets every third Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. in the Banquet Room of Blossoms Restaurant in Magnolia Greens, Leland (1800 Tommy Jacobs Drive). Meetings are preceded by dinner at 4:30 p.m. in the restaurant for those who wish to join in. After the meeting, attendees are invited to adjourn to the restaurant bar for a social hour. All veterans and active-duty service members in the Leland area are invited to attend. To learn more, visit https://ncpost68.org/.