Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
That’s what it’s all about
Memorial Day is Monday, May 30. It’s not about barbecues, three-day weekends, rodeos or sales.
It’s about our servicemen and women who have served our country and who paid the ultimate sacrifice in fighting for our freedoms.
It’s about the Pat Tillman’s of the world. Tillman, an all-pro player for the Arizona Cardinals enlisted after 9/11 giving up NFL money to serve his country. He was killed in Afghanistan in 2004, unfortunately by friendly fire, but while serving his country, fighting for his country.
It’s about the young men during World War II with such a strong desire to serve and fight for their country that they would lie about their age in order to serve.
It’s about those who willingly enlisted to serve or who willingly served when called upon during the draft era.
It’s about fathers, brothers, uncles, aunts, sisters, mothers who have willing signed up to serve to defend the freedoms we hold dear here in the United States of America.
On Memorial Day it doesn’t matter what party you belong to, it doesn’t matter if you are a Trump supporter or a Clinton supporter or a Sanders supporter or in the realm of “none of the above” because Memorial Day is not about politics, it’s not about party affiliation.
While Memorial Day for some has become about remembering any lost loved one, traditionally and historically it was about remembering our fallen troops.
According to MemorialDay.org, “Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo, N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.
“Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868, by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. ‘The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,’ he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.”
The federal observance of Memorial Day has become the last Monday in May with the national holiday first declared by Congress in 1971.
Memorial Day is remembering our fallen heroes. It’s about saying thank you for their service and sacrifice. by attending a Memorial Day service. There are many services around the Big Horn Basin on Monday including 11 a.m. in Worland and 2:30 p.m. in Ten Sleep at the local cemeteries.
So this weekend, whatever you may be doing remember “some gave all” because that’s what the holiday is all about.