Why Memorial Day isn't just about beer and barbecues

Daily Mail ^ | May 30th 2022 | Bill Bee

[Jacquerie]

On Memorial Day 14 years ago I was in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, ready to go home to see my pregnant wife and family in North Carolina after months of endless gun fights with the Taliban and watching my friends die.

Eight days earlier I had a brush with death when a Taliban sniper round hit a bank just inches from my face and held the hand of a teenage Marine whose life slipped away after he was shot in the head.

I heard the radio call for a Marine killed in action: 'Fallen Angel'. 'Fallen Angel, Fallen Angel', their initials, and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

For me, that's why the day is not just about beers and barbecues, but about reflection and remembering American service members who we have lost in battles abroad and at home.

When the sun goes down, I go out to my backyard and mark the day my own way.

I light my fire pit, pull up a lawn chair, pour myself a double of Scotch and light a cigar.

My wife leaves me alone, and I stare at the flames, thinking of the Marines I knew who paid the ultimate price.

I remember the men who were killed by the IED blast that ended my combat career early and left me with physical and psychological scars that are still part of my everyday life.

I think about all the servicemembers who have died fighting for America and our way of life.

I think of those who came home from battlefields and faced - and ultimately succumbed - to their own invisible war with mental health problems compounded by the horrors they experienced.

[mbj]

I appreciate them, and I appreciate your good work also.

Thank you.

[fidelis]