While it doesn't apply to the kind of people capable of reading blogs, I was taken aback to read that according to a recent Gallup poll, 28% of the American public do not even know what Memorial Day is:
a recent Gallup poll found that only 28 percent of Americans know the reason for Memorial Day. Many youngsters know it only as the day their local swimming pools open.
Memorial Day originated in 1868 as a day of remembrance for Union soldiers. Today, it honors all uniformed armed-forces personnel killed during war.
We take these people for granted, but they should never be forgotten.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last known living American-born veteran of World War I, was honored Sunday at the Liberty Memorial during Memorial Day weekend celebrations.
"I had a feeling of longevity and that I might be among those who survived, but I didn't know I'd be the No. 1," the 107-year-old veteran said at a ceremony to unveil his portrait.
His photograph was hung in the main hallway of the National World War I Museum, which he toured for the first time, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States presented him with a gold medal of merit.
On Monday, he will be presented the American flag flying outside the memorial.
Buckles, who now lives in Charles Town, W.Va., has been an invited guest at the Pentagon, met with President Bush in Washington, D.C., and rode in the annual Armed Forces Day Parade in his home state since his status as one of the last living from the "Great War" was discovered nearly two years ago.
Federal officials have also arranged for his burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
Born in Missouri in 1901 and raised in Oklahoma, Buckles visited a string of military recruiters after the United States entered the "war to end all wars" in April 1917.
He had to fib to get in; today many parents and teachers would encourage young people to fib to stay out:
He was rejected by the Marines and the Navy, but eventually persuaded an Army captain he was 18 and enlisted, convincing him Missouri didn't keep public records of birth.
Buckles sailed for England in 1917 on the Carpathia, which is known for its rescue of Titanic survivors, and spent his tour of duty working mainly as a driver and a warehouse clerk in Germany and France. He rose to the rank of corporal and after Armistice Day he helped return prisoners of war to Germany.
Buckles later traveled the world working for the shipping company White Star Line and was in the Philippines in 1940 when the Japanese invaded. He became a prisoner of war for nearly three years.
So he was a veteran of two wars, plus a POW, and he made it to 107. That's one of the most inspiring life stories I've seen, and I think it's entirely fitting that this man would be the last surviving representative of the World War I generation. I used to take them for granted, as did most people. My grandfather fought in that war, and when I was a kid that was "the War" we associated with men of his generation. The term "Greatest Generation" hadn't been invented yet, as the World War II generation was then best known (not necessarily in the most respectful manner) as "our parents' generation."
It's a nice piece, but I'm afraid that in discussing his attendance at the grave of General Pershing, the AP used the wrong word:
Buckles gained notoriety when he attended a Veteran's Day ceremony at the Arlington grave of Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, who led U.S. forces in World War I, said his daughter, Susannah Flanagan.
He ended up on the podium and became a featured guest at the event, and the VIP invites and media interview requests came rolling in shortly afterward.
Well that is fame, but notoriety means ill fame, and as the piece is otherwise favorable I cannot understand their use of this word. Maybe they're changing the definition to reflect an older, British definition ("a prominent or well-known person"), but it was still startling. (Normally, I'd expect to see the word "notorious" in association with World War One's most decorated dog -- a pit bull named "Stubby," shown here being honored by General Pershing:
Things change, of course, and what was once honored can find itself being shunned, even prohibited.
Back to World War I's only surviving veteran:
"This has been such a great surprise," Flanagan said. "You wouldn't think there would be this much interest in World War I. But the timing in history has been such and it's been unreal."
Buckles spent much of his museum tour Sunday looking at mementos of Pershing, whom he admired. He posed for pictures in front of a flag that used to be in Pershing's office and retold stories about meeting the famous general.
While Pershing claims most of the fame, Buckles now has a featured place at the museum.
As he should.
Because the purpose of Memorial Day is to remember casualties of all American wars, there's no better way to remember than by hearing from those who were there. World War II veterans are fading away, and by 2020 they're nearly all expected to be gone. A local VFW post says that today may be its "final Memorial Day commemoration."
"There are only three or four of us in the area," said Christy, a retired hospital food-service director who worked at Aramark for 38 years and who now lives in Clifton Heights. "It's a shame, but it's the way life goes. You can't stick around forever."
The club's demise reflects the shrinking population of World War II veterans nationwide. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has estimated that of the 16 million men and women who served in the war, 2.8 million were alive in September, including 160,953 in Pennsylvania and 82,566 in New Jersey.
By this September, the department projects the number of veterans will have dropped to 141,265 in Pennsylvania and 72,065 in New Jersey.
But they won't be forgotten -- not, at least, in the minds of the 78% 28% of Americans who remember. (My father was one of them, and he died in 1990.)
It's a holiday, but it's more than a holiday; it's a time to remember.
And while I'm remembering, my special thanks to co-blogger M. Simon, who is a Vietnam veteran.
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!
UPDATE: Commenter Jay points out I had my math backwards -- which means 72% don't know the meaning of Memorial Day.
I stand corrected. But ugh! That is a very unpleasant statistic, and when I misread it in a hurry this morning I thought it was bad that 28% did not know.
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Comments
If you haven't already done so, you may want to visit the grave site of General George Meade at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Meade's marker is a simple tombstone that befits the reputation of this much-maligned Philadelphian, e.g., "Following an incident in June 1864, in which Meade disciplined reporter Edward Cropsey from The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper for an unfavorable article, all of the press assigned to his army agreed to mention Meade only in conjunction with setbacks."
G. Weightman · May 26, 2008 11:06 AM
I am honestly surprised that it is only 28%.
Happy Memorial Day.
John · May 26, 2008 01:21 PM
"a recent Gallup poll found that only 28 percent of Americans know the reason for Memorial Day. Many youngsters know it only as the day their local swimming pools open."
I think that translates to 72% don't know.
Jay · May 26, 2008 04:23 PM
I find that statistic hard to believe. Generally, I do not attempt to swim against the tide when we are throwing out low-ball estimates of the intellect and education of the average American, but that figure just defies reason. How could 3/4 of the country not know what MEMORIAL Day is, especially given all of the events on this day that are billed as honoring troops and those who died in service to our country. I'd like to see the question that was asked and how responses were tallied.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
If you haven't already done so, you may want to visit the grave site of General George Meade at Laurel Hill Cemetery.
Meade's marker is a simple tombstone that befits the reputation of this much-maligned Philadelphian, e.g., "Following an incident in June 1864, in which Meade disciplined reporter Edward Cropsey from The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper for an unfavorable article, all of the press assigned to his army agreed to mention Meade only in conjunction with setbacks."