Home of the Free because of the Brave

This post is about what it means to be a Military Brat according to me.

All One Blood by Vish studio
It's Memorial Day here in the United States. And yes, while that means that  Summer is pretty much here and  people are getting drunk and I went fishing Saturday, I'm also reminded of what it means to be part of a military family. And I do mean that in the most literal, all encompassing sense of the word. I am the only generation in my father's line to not enter the service directly out of high school. Any service would have done. But I chose college instead. If I had been in shape at the time it would have been more important but as it was I was reminded that every generation has entered since we arrived in 1904. We have never been drafted, we have never backed down from a fight and we have always done whatever we could to defend  our freedoms. My mom served over twenty years in the Navy and has always said it was the best decision she ever made. She taught me about discipline and independence. My dad taught me about freedom and using my rights because they are mine and if I don't use them, they will be taken away or used against me.

I'm using our a lot and no, I haven't been in any service, so how could I possibly know what it was like to be in the military. But that's not really the point of Memorial Day. It's remembering that people got on a plane or ship, headed out somewhere and then lived in miserable conditions, watched their friends die around them, got injured and then died themselves. All so that I and the rest of us Americans, could enjoy the lives that we have right now. No, America isn't perfect. But we have those freedoms because people have fought for them. Other countries have freedom where they might not have before because we did that.

Memorial Day isn't about arguing over wars, or politics. It's about remembering those people that have died while in service to this country. It's about putting aside political ideas, presidents and the economy for one day and remembering those that fought and died for something bigger than themselves. It's about realizing that our soldiers, both living and gone, have always mattered. When someone chooses to enter the service, when they put on that uniform and fasten their ribbons to their starchy white uniforms everyday like I saw my mom do, that it means something. It's more than just a job, or a career. It's being more than who and what you are by taking up an ideal that is greater than anything that has ever been.

If I've lost you, I'm sorry. And I'm not trying to be preachy though it may come across that way. I love being part of a military family. I love that I have that history, that my father's choices, my grandfather's choices and his father's choices and so on run through me. That I've got that kind of history backing me up. That my freedoms matter to me and I will fight for them with everything I have because people have died to give them to me.

And most people don't even know how Memorial Day really started. Though few people know what happened in 1776 and even fewer know when D-Day was or what happened at the Battle of Normandy so I don't know why the lack of historical knowledge today frightens me so much. Remember that line that those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it? How much of history do you really want to repeat? Because it really wasn't all fun and games.

Soapbox moment over. Just... go remember a veteran. Do something with your rights today. And if you're feeling really generous, go visit a military memorial at your local cemetery, tell a veteran thank you or buy someone in the uniform lunch. People don't appreciate soldiers enough when they're alive. It shouldn't take Memorial Day for people to recognize their great acts and sacrifices when they're dead.