The Reminders are All Around Us

As we approach Memorial Day 2009, one normally only has to look around his lodge room during a meeting to see living reminders of what the day is all about. If your lodge is anything like mine, you are surrounded by veterans of wars and conflicts ranging from World War II to the current Global War on Terrorism. During this past week alone, I have sat in various Masonic meetings with veterans that represented of all these wars and all of the branches of service.

These men are the living reminders of those for which Memorial Day exists – the ones who lost their lives in the defense of the United States of America. You can bet your bottom dollar that they remember those who died because they were their peers, friends, and loved ones. Many people today think of a military grave marker when they reflect on the reason for Memorial Day. The veterans have something more. They have the memories – which they carry with them everyday – of real faces, conversations, shared trials and tribulations, handshakes, and hugs.

The veterans are walking memorials to those that did not make it home. They are the reminders that are all around us. Please take time this Memorial Day to thank a veteran – inside and outside of Freemasonry. That veteran will surely pass on your feelings to the memories – his friends – that he carries within him.