We Salute You

On May 17, we celebrate the single holiday where we can thank the military members for their patriotic service for our country: Armed Forces Day.

On August 31,1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced that there would be a day to replace the separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force Days. That day was Armed Forces Day. The reason for this day was from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department-the Department of Defense and to honor the Americans who served or are serving in the five services.
Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop its own specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day, but the Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.

The first Armed Forces Day was May 20, 1950. It was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions and air shows.
Although we celebrate Armed Forces Day on the third Saturday of May, Armed Forces Week begins on the second Saturday of May and ends on Armed Forces Day.

As the people gathered to honor the Armed Forces on this occasion, so too did the country's leaders. Some of the more notable of these leaders' quotes are stated below:

"Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense."

Former Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson

"The heritage of freedom must be guarded as carefully in peace as it was in war. Faith, not suspicion, must be the key to our relationships. Sacrifice, not selfishness, must be the eternal price of liberty. Vigilance, not appeasement, is the byword of living freedoms. Our Armed Forces in 1950--protecting the peace, building for security with freedom--are "Teamed for Defense ..."

General Omar N. Bradley
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"It is fitting and proper that we devote one day each year to paying special tribute to those whose constancy and courage constitute one of the bulwarks guarding the freedom of this nation and the peace of the free world."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

"Today let us, as Americans, honor the American fighting man. For it is he--the soldier, the sailor, the Airman, the Marine--who has fought to preserve freedom. It is his valor that has given renewed hope to the free world that by working together in discipline and faith our ideals of freedom will always prevail."

Admiral Forrest P. Sherman

"...Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard."

President John F. Kennedy, 1962

"The support of an informed American people is increasingly important to the Armed Forces in these days of rapid technological advance, quick reaction time, and grave threat to our freedom. I, therefore, encourage members of the DoD to observe Armed Forces Day by informing the American people of our 'Power for Peace' and by confirming their faith that in our strength we will remain free."

The Honorable Robert S. McNamara, 1962
Former Secretary of Defense

"Armed Forces Day, above all, honors the dedicated individuals who wear the uniforms of their country. Each serviceman, wherever he may be, whatever his task, contributes directly and importantly to the defense of the nation. The task of each one is the task of all the Armed Forces: to protect the freedoms which underlie the greatness of America."

General Earle G. Wheeler, 1967
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

Let us honor those who are serving in the Armed Services this May! They give so much for our freedom!

On May 26th, we celebrate Memorial Day in honor of all the veterans who have died serving this country. It was first called Decoration Day, but has since 1882 it has been called Memorial Day. It did not become more common until after World War II, and it was not declared Memorial Day as the official name 'til 1967.
Memorial Day was first begun to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War who had given their life, but after World War I, it was set to honor anyone who died in any war or military action.

The first Memorial Day observed was by some freed slaves at a historic Charleston race track in 1865. The track had been a former Confederate prison camp and a mass grave site for Union soldiers who died while in the camp.
They had a parade of thousand of freed slaves and the Union soldiers followed them and sang patriotic songs and closed with a picnic.

While that was the first observed Memorial Day, the birthplace of Memorial Day is actually in Waterloo, New York on May 5, 1866. Generals John Murray and John A Logan admired how the South honored their dead on the special day they set aside, and decided that the Union needed day like that too.

On May 5, 1868, General Logan, who was commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veteran's organization, issued a declaration that "Decoration Day" would be observed nationwide. It was first observed on May 30, 1868; that date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The people of America decorated the tombs of fallen Union soldiers in remembrance of the day.

Many of the Southern states refused to celebrate Decoration Day, because of lingering hostility towards the Union and because there were very few Union Army veterans in the South.
Columbus, Mississippi celebrated its own Decoration Day on April 25, 1866 and commemorated both the Union and Confederate dead that were buried in its cemetery.

We owe very much to the veterans who have given their lives, so that we can live in the country we live in. Many of the young men who have served were not much older than I am and some were younger. We must always remember what Jesus said about giving a life:

John 15:13
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

Let us also never forget to thank the veterans who are still living while we have the chance. There are very few of them left.
I had the greatest opportunity a couple years ago to make a service album for my grandfather who served in WWII. It was such a wonderful experience to be able to talk to him, when he would talk, about his experiences and different places he went. This Memorial Day remember the veterans who gave their lives for this country and for the freedom of all!