That's interesting Monica.

I didn't realize that Texas honored the Confederate war dead on January 19th. It's not an official holiday.

Yup...it's a real official holiday, just not a well known one.

This year, there was a big "do" in Conroe,TX for Hero's Day.

Strange that I am actually qualified as a Daughter of the Confederacy and I didn't know that. LOL! I have never been initiated though. I wasn't really interested.

Gayle

Gayle, I am also qualified as a Daughter of the Confederacy and I did not know that, either! LOL I have never been interested in joining. I can also join the DAR but haven't done so. I had some illustrious ancestors! LOL That was interesting reading, Monica. Thanks for posting! Bettye

Lest we forget "Memorial Day" is a latter day name, replacing "Decoration Day".

Thanks for sharing this.I saved it so Greg and Ashley can read it.Our family is big on all this and we love reading this.Close to my home we have a place called "American Village" and it is very interesting.If you type it in on the computer you can see what its all about.They have a big program planned for tomorrow.We love hearing the "taps".

Used to be May 30th as I recall.

Please, folks ...

... send more of your people abroad as Peace Corps volunteers.

Fewer get killed, that way.

They produce many useful and constructive things and decent living for people that they serve, embodying your ideals of freedom and democracy .

Plus make a positive impact for your country in many parts of the world.

When I was a missionary, a rather joking part of our credo was to try to make a nickel do a dollar's worth of work.

You've received good value for the money that was invested in the Peace Corps and similar agencies.

ole joyful

After some consideration of my earlier post here, I offer my apology for having made it on this thread, as I did not intend it in any way to detract from your appreciation of the service that military people have given, including death for many.

While I consider that the point that I made is valid, I think that I should have made it on a separate thread.

Our May holiday, last weekend, earlier dealing with our queen of the late 1800s, has been just a holiday for many years, with no military connotations.

We remember their contributions on November 11, which we used to call "Armistice Day", related mainly to te multiplied thousands who were killed in World War I, and later in World War II and Korea.

Our family has more reason than many to be thankful for the soldiers' contribution, for Grandpa was 54 (Dad 13) in 1914, when World WarI began.

When World War II began in 1939, Dad at 38 had a wife in the chronic hospital, an old mother 77 and me, aged 10 plus 2 younger brothers and a fairly large farm to look after.

Korea was not a major deal here, I wondered about going, but was busy in University at the time.

I finished just as the Korean War was winding down and asked to be appointed as a missionary of our (liberal Protestant)(1) church, to help heal the wounds of war in Korea, then spent 10 years there. I do not like war.

So our family, not having been personally involved in war, have reason to be more thankful than many for the gift of their lives that many soldiers have been called upon to make.

I drove my son, who has lived all of his life in Canada, a dual citizen, to Toronto to register for the U.S. draft in the late '70s, when he was near or at 18 ... but he has not served.

He was in the Canadian Navy Officers' Training or Reserves for a while, while he was in University, and spent a summer with them, but did not continue. When given an order, he had a tendency to ask the officer to give him three reasons why he should follow it. I think that he and the Navy felt that they would not make a good fit.

Good wishes to you all as you remember later today, Memorial Day.

ole joyful

1. When I started university in 1947, I was assigned a room in our seminary dorm that had been furnished in tribute to our first ordained female clergyperson, which took place in the 1930s on the Prairies, I think. Most of the Presbyterians, the Methodists and the Congregationalists (plus a number of local union churches, mainly in the recently-settled Prairies) joined into The United Church of Canada in 1925.

o j