At some point during its 150th year history Memorial Day, the holiday commemorating war dead evolved into the unofficial kickoff to summer. In California the lines between summer and the rest of the year are blurred since are grills fired up and flip-flops worn all year round. In New England Memorial Day marks when you can begin wearing summer whites and eat lobster and hopefully get the grill going. Throughout the country parades, salutes and other commemorations still happen but are eclipsed by traffic jams, sporting events and Memorial Day sales.
The origin of the holiday is unclear but by the end of the Civil War the practice of decorating markers and remembering the fallen in battle was widespread in the North and the South. Undoubtedly many of our parents and grandparents participated in the victory parades after WWII. I remember one Memorial Day in a small New England town—I think I was 8 or 9. The day started at the local cemetery. There a brass quartet of the locals played taps and other musical tributes at the graves of the fallen, their markers already decorated with flags. A parade around the commons followed comprised of no more than 30 people. Leading were the veterans of the two World Wars, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. Behind them were children with decorated tricycles, bikes and Red Flyers. That was the parade. When it was over, we went back home and had a cookout.
This year’s Memorial Day is the first national holiday since the global pandemic gripped our lives. When the shut down rolled across the country nine weeks ago we probably never expected being in such a prolonged state of uncertainty and disruption. The grim reality of 100,000 deaths will reminds us that this plague is not going away anytime soon. On Friday flags flew in memory of those who perished. The New York Times printed the names of 1% of them on the first page of Sunday’s paper. It’s fitting; reminding us of that we’re still at war—this time with an invisible enemy. Heroes fighting to defeat Covid-19 surround us and they give us hope.
How should we remember this Memorial Day? Taps played at a cemetery, perhaps even an outdoor brass quartet at a gazebo while observing social distancing. Memorial Day services and parades live streamed or broadcasted in other social distancing ways. And of course family cook outs. We honor the fallen of the armed forces for we can never take their sacrifices for granted. But this year we’ll remember those of all ages, and health conditions who succumb to this pandemic including health care responders who sacrificed their lives for us. We won’t forget. This Memorial Day is like no other.
