Memorial Day 2014

Memorial Day got an early start for me today, as the dog wanted out at 03:15.  After dinking with her for an hour or so, trying to convince her to go back to sleep, and not wake DH up, I finally condescended to let her out to chase rabbits in the back yard at 04:30.  Shortly thereafter, the household started to awaken on its own, with DH and MonkeyBoy both up before 05:00.  I promptly went back to bed then, and tried to catch up on disrupted sleep.

There will be no trips to the cemetery today.  None of our dead are buried here.  My mom went to the cemeteries instead, on the weekend, paying her respects, and mine to family.  Some of our dead served in the military--my cousin Larry comes to mind--dead from cancer, after serving in Vietnam, and growing up on a farm...so no way to tell if his chemical exposure caner was service related or not.  Or my own father, who served not in this country's military, but in the Royal Merchant Navy.

In times of war, the RMN is considered an auxiliary of the Royal Navy.  He did serve during WWII, manning troop carrying ships, traversing the Atlantic from the USA to Britain.  A somewhat hazardous job, considering the U-boat unrestricted warfare meant merchant shipping was considered a fair target.

My father in law also served in WWII, in Europe, the Italian campaign if I recall correctly.  We attended a unit reunion a few years back, sadly after he had passed, but it was interesting to meet his surviving comrades and their spouses/widows.  Almost all of those hardy souls are gone now, only 1 or 2 surviving to this day I think.  Time marches onward, for all of us.

I have friends, dear ones, who also served in their time.  Some saw combat, one in Gulf 1, another in other conflicts.  So perhaps tonight I will raise a glass of finest bourbon, in memory and in thanks for ALL who served, and still serve now.