Honoring the Uniform and Those Who Served

Memorial Day and Veterans Day honor two aspects of military service -- those who served and those who in doing so made the ultimate sacrifice. However recognition of our veterans should not be restricted to one or two days a year. In that vein, not quite a reprise, but a listing of other posts on the topic of duty and honor.

 


Echoes From The Valley  - click on the link for an excerpt from the tale where a soldier from the past honored his descendant's duty. And as a special readers bonus, you can get a free read of the story. Download Link

The Home Front - Another Side of War

The Statue

Armistice Day to Veterans Day

Freedom Isn't Free

Choosing Just One

And finally,Hearth and Sand Twelve tales of those who served on the front lines and the stories of loved ones left behind who preserved the home front. Set universes apart and separated by decades in time, the stories in Hearth and Sand reflect a continuity of service from the past to the present and into the world of tomorrow. 

 And as a special acknowledgement, Hearth and Sand is on sale for 99cents for a limited time only.

Choosing Just One

Welcome to week 29 of the MFRWauthor challenge. This week's challenge was to pick a favorite holiday. Decisions...decisions. Should I pick it for the food (which I don't need), the social gathering (moved so those don't happen any more) or the presents. I decided to go with Memorial Day. For most of my married life I lived in a small town and Memorial Day was not just another 3-day weekend for shopping.

Veterans and scouts place flags on the graves of veterans. The entire town gathers along the main street to watch the parade (unless they are one of the marchers.) Fond memories of the parade include the year two young sisters led the first contingent. Many of the participants remarked about the comfortable pace, that for the first time they didn't feel like they had to run to keep up. Of course, there ended up being a large gap between the honor guard and grand marshal and the rest of the parade.

The parade culminates with the laying of a wreath at the foot of the doughboy statue in the local park.

Enjoy the poem the statue inspired by visiting the tribute post or clicking on the picture. And be sure to visit the other posts in the challenge.


~till next time, Helen