Music For Memorial Day
Sunday, May 26, 2013 at 6:30PM
Music can be used to teach about and commemorate many holidays.
Memorial Day is no exception.
One of my favorite pieces for Memorial Day is Hymn to the Fallen by John Williams.
It is IMPERATIVE to teach our children about Memorial Day - and its significance. It isn't National Cookout Day. It is a day to remember all those who have served so bravely - and a day to remember those who have paid the ultimate price.
In our home we talk often about members of our family that have served our country. We talk about grandfathers that served during The Korean War.
We fly our American flag proudly and are sure to thank everyone we know that has served our country.
My brother, a retired Navy chaplain, wrote a book several years ago, No Atheists in Foxholes. It is a book of prayers and reflections from his time as the chaplain at Camp David and his experience in Iraq as a chaplain in a shock and trauma and mortuary unit.
It is a difficult book to read - as are all stories of war.
In our generation, however, I believe we may be teaching our children to shy away from the difficult. We may be teaching them this weekend is all about a day off of work, or lots of pool time.
If you do nothing else with your children, please sit them down and have them watch this video. I found it very moving.
This piece was originally written for the movie, "Saving Private Ryan", and it is such a beautiful way to help us remember all of the fallen.
What does Memorial Day mean to you? What special activities does your family take part in to remember this day?
Reader Comments (2)
We watched documentaries on the different wars, and had a mini lesson plan on what Memorial
Day means. It's important to my husband & I that our kids understand what the soldiers died for, and what it means to support our country.
Our family's Memorial Day tradition includes attending the Memorial Day service at Roselawn Cemetary in Decatur, AL. Our sons (twin boys, now 13 years old) have grown up learning that Memorial Day is a day to remember those who gave all. At their first service--they must have been 4 or 5--they tried to be well-behaved and pay attention. There were so many moments that captured their attention: the motorcyclists who escort soldier funerals standing in a semi-circle with American flags snapping in the breeze; the local JROTC unit performing the ceremony of the empty chairs; and the Gold-star mothers being escorted by police department's honor guard to place wreaths on the monuments. The limousine the Gold Star Mothers rode in really caught one son's attention. "Mommy," he whispered, "when we grow up, if you get to be a Gold Star Mother, can we ride in the limousine with you?" He didn't understand why I teared up, again, at his question.