Taken from New Port Richey Post 79's Paradise Parade Newsletter:

GUEST Editorial                                                                             by Pat Mulieri

Remembering

           

            Memorial Day is set aside to remember fallen heroes, rededicate ourselves to the ideals for which they gave their lives and teach young people the importance of remembering. It is also a day to pick away at our scabs of complacency.

            Unfortunately for many, Memorial Day is a day for picnics, parades and the beginning of summer fun. When I asked a group of young people what Memorial Day meant to them, I received mixed answers: school's almost over, we go to the beach, it's my Dad's vacation. Very few gave the true meaning of the day.

            This was a change from when I was growing up. Perhaps Memorial Day is special to me because I saw an uncle and an aunt go off to war, knew the discomfort of rationing and lived with the possibility of losing a loved one. Each time a gold star was placed in a window, hearts were broken. During World War II my uncle served in the infantry and my aunt was a nurse on the China/Burma front. Both returned, but each was changed. I remember the day my uncle came home: the crowds, the party, his nervousness and constant pacing. My aunt brought the reality of war home to us. She chronicled her tour of duty with slides and presented a too graphic, too bloody and too painful picture of war.

            Now, more than 50 years later, Memorial Day still has great meaning for me. When I think of Memorial Day four words come to mind: patriot, freedom, sacrifice and remembrance.

            A patriot is one who loves, supports and defends his or her country. Freedom is national independence, personal liberty and an exemption from external control. Sacrifice is the surrender of something prized; permitted injury for the sake of someone else; a loss. Remembrance is to recall; to remain aware; to recollect.

            It is fitting on Memorial Day to remember the young men and women who sacrificed much for our freedom and liberty. Whether they died on a cold beach in Normandy, a steamy jungle in Vietnam or a hospital bed in the United States, they gave their most prized possession - their life.

            On Memorial Day we honor these patriots. To them and their families, I say thank you: I will remember. And I will continue reminding young people of your great sacrifice.

 

(Pat Mulieri is a professor at PHCC West and a Pasco County Commissioner.)

Editor: Her comments are just as pertinent today as they were when published Sunday, May 24, 1998 in The Tampa Tribune.