Memorial Day: remembering the fallen

This is my first Memorial Day. Reading up about this federal holiday, I learned that today is a day of remembrance for the soldiers who have died in the wars involving the U.S.

I remember being in Arlington National Cemetery listening to the tour guide recite John McCrae's In Flanders Fields:

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row by row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt the dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

When Val and I were in Washington, D.C., I was able to visit the different memorials for people who sacrificed their lives in the military service of the U.S. In the National Mall, there were quite a few.

Vietnam War Memorial

This armed conflict actually wasn't confined in Vietnam. It's also called the Second Indochina War because it also involved Laos and Cambodia. And it's a long war. Based on the Pentagon Papers, the U.S. involvement began in 1945, when it lent support to the French who was trying to reconquer its former colony, and ended in 1975 when Ford pulled the last of the troops and personnel out of Vietnam. That means that the U.S. was entangled in the Indochina conflict under the administrations of six presidents. Almost 60,000 U.S. soldiers perished from 1956 to 1975. Their names are etched on the wall lining the Vietnam War Memorial. This is the only memorial where I noticed veterans visiting. Perhaps, that's because the war ended 44 year ago and many veterans are still alive. 

Unlike World War II, in which there were clear winners, the Vietnam War's outcome was less clear.  Definitely, North Vietnam achieve its objective of uniting the two Vietnams into one independent nation. On the other hand, the U.S. failed in preventing Communism from spreading in the Indochina peninsula. 

Korean War Veterans Memorial

East Asia barely concluded the Pacific Theatre of World War II when the Korean War began. South Korea and North Korea were recognised as two separate countries after World War II but both countries believe that there is only one Korea (and each country believed that it's the legitimate government). In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, triggering armed conflict. South Korea was aided by the United Nations in repelling the North Korean attack. The U.S. provided a significant number of troops to this effort. Many died in this war: over 50,000 U.S. troops and over 620,000 U.N. troops between 1950 and 1953. Harry Truman was the U.S. President during this war (and in Vietnam too). His involvement was marked by disagreements with Douglas MacArthur, which effectively led to the latter's removal from his post. 

There's no clear winner in this armed conflict. In fact, the Korean War is still on-going! I thought it had ended with the armistice agreement the two nations signed in 1953. However, North Korea has not recognised this as the end of the war. I've seen news coverage about North Korean aggression towards South Korea. But hopefully, this conflict will already end; both nations have already expressed interest in peace and in denuclearisation. 

World War II Memorial

Before the U.S. found itself entrenched in armed conflicts in East Asia and in Southeast Asia in the 1950s and 1960s, it was battling against the Japanese Imperial Army first in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Franklin Roosevelt, regarded as one the U.S.' greatest presidents, was in his third term when the war broke out. The U.S. got involved because Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Japanese. Unlike the Korean and the Vietnamese Wars, World War II had clear winners: the Allied Forces. During this global armed conflict, the Philippines was still a U.S. territory; hence, a pillar inscribed with the country's name stands in the memorial. A wall of gold stars stands on one side of the memorial, symbols of sacrifice, representing over 400,000 lives lost. 

World War II killed millions of people; six million of them died during the Holocaust alone. My  paternal grandparents narrowly escaped deaths in the hands of the Japanese through street smarts and acting chops. But other Filipinos were not as lucky.

Wars bring a heavy toll to soldiers and their families. Memorial Day is a chance for civilians to remember that the freedom they enjoy now is not free. It is paid for with the blood and the sweat of soldiers, and the tears of their families.