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I suppose that most Americans are patriotic on Memorial Day, Veterans’ Day, and the Fourth of July, but I’m one of those people raised to be patriotic all the time. Yup, I think we should sing the Battle Hymn of the Republic, all four verses, on a regular basis. I know that there is more than one verse to the National Anthem and still get tears in my eyes when we sing God Bless America.

I think that Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” is one of the great songs of our time and should be a staple of pretty much any radio station.  And, I think that visiting war memorials should be required of every student in the country, along with the obligatory speech about what the monuments stand for and who is buried there.

Locally, I live close to Mounds National Cemetery, sometimes called the Arlington of the Midwest. Sadly, it is a somewhat neglected national monument, cared for lovingly by the same hands that tend Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, but barely noticed on an Illinois state road map. It is an impressive and inspriational site.

As you wander back to the monument to the unknown soldier, a poem about those who stand and watch is painted on placards that line the roadway. There is the cemetery guide for those looking for a specific soldier, but the casual visitor can also wander among the gravestones and find the names of soldiers who have served our nation in times of trouble since the Civil War. Soldiers from both sides of that war are buried here as Mounds and Cairo, Illinois, held sympathizers to both North and South.

Every American conflict since then has left its mark here and sadly, there is room for more.

But I wonder sometimes why more people don’t respect these hallowed places for more than just their historical significance, more than just the record of the dead. We need to just feel them sometimes, hear the stories of these men and women and know that we are blessed.

This Memorial Day I have a different and more personal outlook on the war and yet I hope that I am no more and no less reverent today than on any of these holidays. My friend, Rebekkah Henderson Thomas, is in the final days of her pre-deployment training at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin. For her and her family, this day is more than the kick-off of summer and celebratory barbecue. Another friend, Shad Lewis, is career Army and will begin his second deployment to the War soon.

Each of these people and thousands of soldiers I have never met guard my life each day and they ask so very little in return. I wonder why we cannot offer them a dollar for a poppy and a day or two of remembrance for all that they give?

Too many people who don’t approve of the motives behind the war are critical of American soldiers and the job they are doing. Like school children, these people need a reminder, a guide tour of America’s war monuments and a history lesson this Memorial Day instead of barbecued chicken and potato salad.

There is nothing wrong with a picnic to celebrate the things that our country has achieved and all the potential that is here, but in between bites of corn on the cob, a few words of thanks and prayers for our troops is not only appropriate, it is appreciated.

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