LET'S NOT FORGET WHY WE CELEBRATE MEMORIAL DAY

For many of us, Memorial Day is synonymous with the start of summer. It's family picnics, a splash in the pool, a three-day weekend, the Indy 500 auto race, as well as the end of the school year and the start of summer vacations. Across this nation, Memorial Day also will be marked with ceremonies honoring the nation's veterans and those who died in the service of their country.

All too often today, our society is one that seeks instant gratification. In our rush-around world, we seem to find little time for quiet reflection.

Amid all the Memorial Day fun, we too easily forget the real purpose of this holiday. Our freedoms didn't just materialize. They are hard-fought ones, preserved over the last two centuries by the blood of our countrymen.

More than 1.1 million Americans have died in wars, dating back to the American Revolution. But for years, we did not commemorate our sacrifice in any national way.

The first official Memorial Day wasn't celebrated until May 30, 1868 three years after the end of the Civil War.

But the impetus for the holiday is credited to two Columbus, Miss., women who visited their local cemetery in April 1866 and placed flowers on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers. Thanks to the efforts of veterans organizations, there are any number of Memorial Day celebrations scheduled in our region.

Even the least patriotic of us certainly would be stirred to patriotism at the sight of the "Avenue of Flags" at Cape Girardeau County Park all those "Stars and Stripes" waving majestically in the breeze. Throughout our nation's history Old Glory has stood as the signpost of popular government and civic liberty.

Memorial Day should not be viewed as a mournful occasion, but rather an opportunity to pay tribute to the indomitable spirit of Americans who have answered our nation's call.

America's armed forces have traditionally aided those in distress, both at home and abroad. And our soldiers have died on battlefields from Gettysburg to Normandy, and at hundreds of other way stations in history.

On Memorial Day, we remember and honor America's citizen soldiers, not so much for their military exploits as for their convictions their steadfast attention to duty, honor and country.

Memorial Day is more than a means of honoring those who paid the ultimate price for freedom. It's a commitment to patriotism. On this quintessential of American holidays, let us not forget that commitment.