Memorial Day, whenever and whoever

In my heart it'll always be Memorial Day on the 30th of May, recalling the Union dead in our Civil War. Now course it's the last Monday in May, honoring all who died in any of our wars. My younger granddaughter and I went out to the cemetery the other day to neaten up the family gravestones (I added my own in 2023 alongside those of my wife and daughter) and ensure that the American flag still marked the grave of my father-in-law, who skippered a fast-supply boat with a Kiwi crew in the Second World War. For myself, I served two years and a day in the 1950s and became a "veteran" retroactively in 1977. It was enough, however, to give me an appreciation for those who shed their blood for this country, and never more than in this, its 250th year. Thank you for your sacrifice!