A day to honor those we lost
I took a moment to remember yesterday and take today off for Memorial Day.
Memorial Day began just after the Civil War as freed slaves decorated the graves of Union soldiers in Mississippi. Pulitzer Prize winning historian David Blight has worked hard to highlight their work.
Time Magazine discussed his efforts and the true origins of Memorial Day in a 2020 article:
“According to Blight’s 2001 book Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, a commemoration organized by freed slaves and some white missionaries took place on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, S.C., at a former planters’ racetrack where Confederates held captured Union soldiers during the last year of the war. At least 257 prisoners died, many of disease, and were buried in unmarked graves, so black residents of Charleston decided to give them a proper burial.
In the approximately 10 days leading up to the event, roughly two dozen African American Charlestonians reorganized the graves into rows and built a 10-foot-tall white fence around them. An archway overhead spelled out “Martyrs of the Race Course” in black letters.
About 10,000 people, mostly black residents, participated in the May 1 tribute, according to coverage back then in the Charleston Daily Courier and the New York Tribune. Starting at 9 a.m., about 3,000 black schoolchildren paraded around the race track holding roses and singing the Union song “John Brown’s Body,” and were followed by adults representing aid societies for freed black men and women. Black pastors delivered sermons and led attendees in prayer and in the singing of spirituals, and there were picnics. James Redpath, the white director of freedman’s education in the region, organized about 30 speeches by Union officers, missionaries and black ministers. Participants sang patriotic songs like “America” and “We’ll Rally around the Flag” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In the afternoon, three white and black Union regiments marched around the graves and staged a drill.”
In 1868 a call went out from Gen. John Logan, the Commander of the veterans group the Grand Army of the Republic, asking Americans to decorate the graves of Union fallen on May 30th and a ceremony was held in Arlington National Cemetery that year. It grew to include those who had fallen in every American conflict as officially recognized as the last Monday in May in 1968 and a true national holiday in 1971.
I always make a point to take the weekend off if possible, think about the soldiers and friends I lost during my 22-years in the Army and since, and visit my parents at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery when in town. I’ve lived in St. Louis now for nearly four years and it’s become my tradition.
I went down yesterday to reflect on the sacrifice, hang out with them, and just feel the history from across that beautiful place on a hill above the Mississippi River. The barracks were first founded in 1827 and served as Union hospital during the Civil War. Thousands are buried there including over 1,100 Confederates who died in captivity.
As I wandered the grounds I recorded the video above and savored the quiet. Usually I go on Monday. It’s always packed with cars and visitors. Often it’s more hectic than peaceful so this year I went down on Saturday.
I’m glad I did. It gave me a moment of quiet with my parents and the others who served.
Across the country Trump showed his ass again
As I sat on the ground with my parents my phone began to blow up with texts from friends, West Point classmates, and social media notifications as Donald Trump spoke at the graduation ceremony for the U.S. Military Academy Class of 2025.
He did everything humanly possible to disrespect that hallowed place and the honor of the military.
From the moment he stepped foot he made sure to defecate on all of it. Walking in wearing one of his made in China ‘Make America Great Again’ campaign hat violating the Hatch Act of mixing political apparel and speech with official duties.
Then he stood at the podium and attacked his predecessors. Lied about their actions as President. Mocked the efforts to reduce the outrageously tenacious longstanding scourges of sexual assault, bigotry, and racism in the ranks. Promoted his own election and in a final act of insanity meandered off on a tangent about a friend who picked up “trophy wives” and yachts in front of a cohort of young men and women who just swore and oath of public service.
I won’t show you any clips but the clown was literally laughed at by the audience. They sat in stunned silence as he meandered through a rambling idiotic speech that was completely untethered from reality and as disrespectful of the moment as imaginable.
I tried to stay away from it all but couldn’t resist posting a picture of his arrival like the one above. I simply said “Disgusting.”
When I checked my social media later the post was flooded with MAGA creatures claiming that it was AI and I was obsessed with making him look bad. I am infected with “TDS.” I responded to several of them with video of him speaking with that ridiculous hat on his head to show it was real.
The replies then flipped to saying “still better than Biden” or other idiotic MAGA bullshit.
There is no honor in his movement. They will lie, smear, and attack anyone who dares criticize their Golden Ass even after admitting that it was so outrageous that it couldn’t be real. They knew it was so asinine that the only explanation was that I had faked the picture. When it was shown to be true the simply flipped to defending him.
Then the old fool simply left saying he had to leave to ‘deal with Russian and China’ which led to another round of mocking laughter. Cadets are a cynical bunch and they can see through bullshit a mile away.
He didn’t shake hands with graduates as is tradition. He meandered away and flew off to his golf club where he will spend the weekend.
He will not be attending the ceremony at Arlington on Monday or host veterans at the White House as past Commanders-in-Chief have always done.
Our service members and our fallen take second place to his golf game.
Remembering without him
Real Americans will move on without him. We will plant flags at our service members graves. We will mark the passing of friends. We will remember the fallen as I always do each year.
I can’t ever forget the first men I lost in combat, CW3 Hal Reichle and SPC Mike Daniels. Men who left us too soon hom I lost in Desert Storm as they led a team of Apaches on a night reconnaissance into Iraq.
I will go hiking today instead of trying to keep it light on ‘Too Late to Cancel’ because some days are better left with respect instead of politics and comedy.
As I write this I’ve got my plan to drive south a few hours and hike along a river in the Ozark hills. I won’t have cell phone coverage so it should quiet the alerts and outrages of Trump and his lying minions who are flooding the Sunday shows and social media to spread their bile and transparent hate for all the things my friends died for.
I hope you will do the same.
If you want to show support for those who have served I hope you will join us in Washington D.C. for Unite for Veterans on the National Mall on June 6th at 2:00 PM. I am one of the organizers hoping to bring thousands of veterans, supporters, and allies to D.C. to remind our leaders we won’t go quietly as they strip our veterans of their benefits, their jobs, and destroy the Constitution we all swore to uphold and defend.
Let’s take a moment to remember then let’s get back to work. I discussed this moment and honored Hal and Mike during my latest ‘On Democracy with FPWellman’ on MeidasTouch with Abigail Spanberger on Friday. I’d love you to check it out. We premiere new episodes every Friday evening at 7:00 pm ET.
Thank you for your incredible support and this growing community.
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