Editor’s note: This commentary is by Richard Czaplinski of Warren, president of the Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans for Peace, Chapter 57.
Memorial Day originated not long after the U.S. Civil War ended in 1865, and was known then as Decoration Day. The Civil War claimed more soldiers’ lives than any war in U.S. history – 618,222 men died, 360,222 from the North and 258,000 from the South. A recent recalculation claims that 750,000 soldiers died. There were so many deaths that it required the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. To memorialize the Civil War dead, Americans decorated graves and said prayers, usually in May of each year, but some states remembered the dead on other days of the year.
Since the Civil War, the U.S. became embroiled in many other wars including World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and, more recently, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and this day in May became an occasion to remember those who died in those wars also.
The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day. It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production.
Given how much things have changed over the years, with the emphasis of Memorial Day morphing from a “holy” day of remembrance to a “holiday” meaning a day of fun and a day off from work, the question needs to be asked: What do you do on this Memorial Day and the three-day “holiday” weekend? Do you take some time to remember those who died (both military and civilian) in past wars and especially those in our own families who served and died in war?
I always remember my Uncle Willy who died in World War II and was buried in France. I was only 4 years old when World War II ended and only know my Uncle Willy from comments of my older brother, my mom, and dad, and from looking at photographs of him. As I remember my Uncle Willy on Memorial Day, my mind these days goes wider to all those who died, not only Americans but those of other countries and also to all the countless civilians who also died, and to those who live on in fear of stepping on a mine or who live with the after effects of Agent Orange, for example. I think of the destruction of homes, businesses, cities and priceless cultural artifacts and of all the environmental destruction that is wrought by war and by the continual preparation and readiness for war.
For many years the Will Miller Green Mountain Veterans For Peace, Chapter 57 has marched in one or more of the Memorial Day parades with messages about the many costs and damages of war and the need to foster peace. This year the parades have been canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead of marching in Memorial Day parades, members of Chapter 57 are composing individual messages to post on Front Porch Forums and to send to local newspapers trying to raise awareness of the costs of war and need for peace. This is my Memorial Day message for 2020.
Since its founding in 1776, the United States has been at war during 223 out of its 244 calendar years of existence. In other words, there were only 21 calendar years in which the U.S. did not wage any wars. Given the costs of war, which are major in dollars and energy used to wage war, in death and destruction to the cultural and natural world, and the continuing wounds of war in those who fought and survived and to their families, it is high time that we mobilize the nation to work toward peace and, by all means possible, avoid war.
Since the roots of war are deep and wide ranging, coming to peace instead of waging war will not be an easy job. It is up to each one of us to learn all we can about why and how we go to war, and to pay close attention to what our leaders and Congress are doing in the matters of diplomacy, defense and war, and always to make our voices heard.
If Covid-19 has taught us anything it is that we, and all nations in this world, are in this situation together and that working for peace and avoiding war is the work of our time.
On this Memorial Day let us remember those who have fallen in battle everywhere and dedicate ourselves to fostering peace in every way we can.
