Have you forgotten yet?...

Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you'll never forget.

***

Today is the annual observance of Memorial Day. It originally began as a day set aside to decorate the graves of those Americans who died in the Civil War, and has evolved into a holiday to remember not only the fallen in all of America's wars, but to honor the veterans of those wars and the men and women serving now.

Two lines from the first stanza of Aftermath, by the British war poet Siegfried Sassoon, preface this post. Shortly after the end of the 'War to End All Wars,' it was noted that people were starting to forget; to forget not only the generations cut down by bullet and shell and gas, but to forget those who came back, to forget those who were not whole after their experience, disabled in mind as well as in body.

We always hope; we're good at that. We hope that this will be the last generation that sees war, ignoring or forgetting Plato's words that "only the dead have seen the end of war." But we do hope, and that shows that we can see a better future. That is good.

But we also tend to forget, to slowly efface the images of those who fell, and to overlook those who came back touched by conflict. This must stop. These are our sons and daughters, our wives and husbands and lovers, our fellow Americans.

So on this Memorial Day, take a little time to thank a veteran or a currently serving service member. They deserve it.

***

Have you forgotten yet?...

Look up, and swear by the green of the spring that you'll never forget.