This is called serving under the flag. It is an honor. The highest in any country. It still is in these USA despite those who hate us within and outside of our borders. Thanks for serving. The following picture shows that we can forget even while we are remembering. Shame on us…
Our little memory thing is rubbish if we merely say “Oh, what great heroes we honor!” Instead, as one Vet told me, if we really want to honor those who have borne honor in their lives and deaths, we strive to take their example of service to our fellow man. We begin by taking a stand.
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 
I was thinking on similar lines on Sunday.
I was sitting in a cafe in Paris (before taking part in a Corpus Christi procession) and on a television in one corner they were showing a live programme of the commemoration ceremony from Verdun attended by both President Hollande and Angela Merkel. I soon realised that I was the only person in the entire cafe watching. Everyone else continued chatting (or texting) entirely oblivious to what was being commemorated at Verdun.
Sadly for many, both World Wars are now regarded as ancient history and even those of us like myself who were born during the last war have no memories of the horrors of the time. However we must never forget the legacy of those who fought and died for freedom.
I was born in the second year of the so-called “baby boomer” generation, 1947. My dad was a WWII AF vet. I read many books about WWII, some but less about WWI. I saw the old WWII movies, though they were pretty sanitized. I think some research has been done which shows that younger people today know almost nothing about those wars, or Nazis and death camps, Viet Nam or Korea. Some people here were interviewed this year and didn’t even know what Memorial Day was about. Our society seems to have de-valued our soldiers. I saw the aftermath of Viet Nam. Shameful. I don’t recognize the country and the society today, as being anything like it was when I grew up. At times I feel like I am in a totally different world, and the USA is so far gone that it may not come back. It’s not just government…but the people also.
It’s called ‘dumbing down.’ Many kids only get one year of history in high school – that covers Ancient, World and US. Apparently they don’t stress Geography either. Remember Shakespeare? Most kids never heard of him.