Written by Joe Pitts
Clarksville Mayor
Clarksville, TN – In Clarksville, Tennessee – proudly the home of Fort Campbell – where patriotism is deeply woven into our daily lives, we know many stories of personal courage.
We are surrounded by families and friends who have been deeply affected by the loss of someone close to them – someone who paid the ultimate price in service to our country, because of their bravery.
This is the essence of Memorial Day, and it’s where our thoughts turn as this weekend approaches. I hesitate here to refer to it as a “holiday” weekend, because in many respects, there is room for some debate about how to categorize Memorial Day on the calendar.
We’ve seen it evolve into the unofficial start to the summer vacation season, but that tarnishes some of the impact of Memorial Day.
No matter where you are at this weekend, or what you are doing, please take some time to stop, and quietly think about why most of us have this day to spend as we so choose.
Every Memorial Day weekend, as we wander the quiet cemeteries of our communities, we are compelled to reflect on specific, and pivotal events in our history, and the Americans in service to our great nation, who lived and died to author every chapter of the story.
“What a love of country they had.” “Were they frightened in those final moments of their lives?” “They did this for me, even though they didn’t know me.” “Did they ever wonder what they were fighting for?”
These are normal thoughts, and questions, as we slowly stroll between the rows of gravestones with small American flags marking the final resting places of these heroes.
Since my youth, I have been affected by the impact of such sacrifice.
I can personally recall a classmate in elementary school, whose father was killed in Vietnam. I will forever remember the moment when his family came to the school to pick him up on the day they got the news.
I can vividly recall the looks on their faces, when they came to the door of the classroom and took him out of class. And I recall the sharply poignant feeling of that moment.
So many times, I have sat quietly by myself, and reverted back to that day in my mind – wondering what happened next, how they coped at first, and if they were shown enough appreciation for their personal sacrifice through the passing years.
I certainly hope so – though I doubt it’s possible to ever do enough to show gratitude in a case like this.
By definition, to sacrifice something, or someone, means to surrender something valuable to gain something of greater worth, often in the context of a higher purpose or cause. Sacrifice can be the result of a religious act, a moral imperative, or a strategic choice.
What we observe on Memorial Day can bring into play a full range of human emotions.
There is pride, and selfless bravery, in the service and sacrifice of being American.
But there is also deep personal pain and grief. And it is there where we must never lose sight of the real meaning of sacrifice — for both the loss of life of one of our brothers or sisters, and the lives left behind to carry on in quiet, personal sorrow.
There’s a solemn component to Memorial Day that makes it seem less fitting as a “holiday,” and better-categorized in our hearts and minds as a time for deep reflection and remembrance.
There is pride in the patriotic sense, but there is also a lifetime of hurt, and emptiness, in the personal sense. Grief accompanies the fulfillment of a commitment to the noblest of causes.
In honoring the sacrifice of Memorial Day, may there always be respect, and reverence, for the feelings of people directly affected by loss.
We are uniquely in tune with these feelings and emotions in Clarksville.
