Memorial Day

Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Armed Forces Day

By Joe Berk

Mike Huber’s recent post on ANZAC day in Australia touched on our Memorial Day. Let’s take a minute for a brief review of the three military holidays we celebrate here in the United States (Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Armed Forces Day).

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday honoring men and women who have fallen in battle. It is on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day, with origins rooted in several state-specific holidays. The tradition started after the end of the Civil War and has continued ever since.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is another federal holiday; it is celebrated on November 11. It was originally known as Armistice Day to celebrate the end of World War I which occurred on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Armistice Day was officially redesignated as Veterans Day in 1954. I like to think of Veterans Day as my holiday because it celebrates all veterans of the US military. No doubt many of our ExNotes readers who served feel the same way. Like Memorial Day, Veterans Day is a legal holiday.

Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day celebrates our military services and those who are currently serving in uniform. It occurs on the third Saturday in May. It came into being in 1949 when Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced its creation to celebrate consolidation of all military branches under the U.S. Department of Defense. Prior to that, there were separate Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps Days.

Sergeant Zuo on the ride across China. He was a magnificent leader.

I’m grateful for having had the opportunity to serve (as are the vast majority of those who have), and when I meet other people who have worn the uniform of their nations’ military service there’s an instant bond. I felt that way immediately when I met Mike Huber that hot summer day in Baja (I recognized Mike’s jump wings on his BMW at an impromptu gas stop in Catavina), and I felt the same way when I met Sergeant Zuo in Chongqing when we started our 6000-mile ride around China.

Mike was a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division when he served. I went through the same jump school as Mike did at Fort Benning, Georgia (I’m Charlie 34 in the photo up top, one of the scared young soldiers a few days away from my first jump at the Benning School for Boys).

Sergeant Zuo is a retired Chinese Army senior NCO. Because I was a lieutenant when I got out of the Army, Sergeant Zuo snapped to attention and saluted me every morning on that great ride around China. At the end of our 38-day ride, Zuo and I enjoyed a swim in the Yellow Sea in Qingdao. When I served in a Hawk missile battery in Korea, my missiles’ primary target line pointed across the Yellow Sea directly at Qingdao. Zuo and I had a good laugh about that.

I’m proud of my service in the U.S. Army and the fact that I joined in an era when most people were doing everything they could to avoid military service. It’s paid huge dividends for me, not the least of which are what I consider to be a realistic outlook on life, the ability to focus on objectives (in both my military and civilian careers), and my willingness to listen to others (“seek to understand before seeking to be understood” is perhaps the best advice I’ve ever heard). My belief is that eliminating the draft at the tail end of the Vietnam era and not replacing it with some sort of universal public service has hurt our society, but that’s just my opinion. If you have a different perspective, I’d love to hear from you.

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By Mike Huber

Not being in the United States for Memorial Day and seeing our flag lining every Main Street throughout our country is one of those times I miss being home. Having served as a soldier in the United States Army I have endless respect for those that lost their lives in defense of this great nation. I now am learning how to respect it even more so from a global level.

This year on April 25^th my travels afforded me the opportunity to celebrate a Memorial Day for two of our allies, New Zealand and Australia. While on a guided tour through Frazer Island, a remote sand island off the northeastern coast of Australia, our tour was delayed an hour at the ship wreck of the TSS Meheno HMNZ Hospital Ship 1. The Meheno was a critical resource in WW I in retrieving the wounded from Anzac Cove in Gallipoli for both New Zealand and Australia. When I asked why the tour was delayed the guide explained, “Today is Anzac Day,” and went into the meaning of this holiday.

Anzac Day is a combination of Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day for both Australia and New Zealand. Well, once I learned this I left the tour group and made my way into the heart of the ceremony before it began. I knew I was with my people here at this ceremony. I am not quite sure how I knew, but I just knew. It didn’t take me long to be welcomed by the Australian Army Veterans partaking in the ceremony. They eagerly invited me to stand with them front and center to pay respects to their fallen and veterans. As many people know I only own two shirts, an 82^nd Airborne Division shirt and a Boston University shirt. This day I was lucky enough to have worn the 82^nd shirt and it didn’t go unnoticed by the Australian Army veterans. As the ceremony concluded, one of the veterans pulled me aside, thanked me and handed me an Anzac Day pin. I don’t travel with much, but that pin is now part of my sensitive items list.

I was beyond humbled to be standing there, shoulder to shoulder with our allies as they laid wreaths, gave speeches, and played both the Australian and New Zealand national anthems. On more than one occasion I teared up, and for good reason. These servicemen and women easily could have been backing any of our 6’s as Americans. The ceremony resonated deeply within me in realizing that Memorial Day is much more far reaching than just our shores in the United States.

In the following month, I went further with what I took away from that Anzac Day Ceremony by taking the time to visit the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. This museum was as moving as any of ours would be in the United States. They have etched in the walls the names of each of their fallen from every campaign they participated in. This includes The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for Australia and an eternal flame.

I will forever remember my Anzac Day experience and although this day is for our American fallen, it is important to know that these ceremonies go on for all our allies across the world. Please remember the reason for this holiday over the weekend and take the time to pay respects to our heroes of this great Country. God bless America, and God bless our Allies.

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Enjoy the Day

By Joe Berk

It was 50 years ago that I joined the U.S. Army. I went to college on an ROTC scholarship and graduated with a Regular Army commission, the same as the people who graduate from West Point. Three days before graduation, the Army told me my first duty assignment would be staying at Rutgers and getting a master’s degree, all courtesy of Uncle Sugar. Guys I went to high school with were going to Vietnam; the Army sent me to grad school. It didn’t feel right, but it was what it was.

The ROTC scholarship was a sweet ride; grad school was an even better deal. Uncle Sam picked up the entire tab, paid me a housing allowance, and I drew my full pay as a second lieutenant. As I recall, it was something like $436 per month. I couldn’t believe how sweet life was and how I was rolling in dough (grad school was actually easier than undergraduate school). Three of the guys I went to high school with were killed in Vietnam. Several more served over there.

Memorial Day has always been a special day for me, and not just because of what I wrote about above or my time in the Army. I think about the guys I knew and I remember them. You don’t have to have served to do that; all of us should take the day, enjoy it, and think about the people this special day honors: Those who were killed in action fighting America’s wars.

Enjoy the day, my friends.

Memorial Day

Today is a special day. Memorial Day is an official American holiday, always falling on the last Monday in May. The holiday was originally called Decoration Day, it started in the years after the Civil War, and it became an official Federal holiday in 1971. The concept was at first intended to honor those lost during the Civil War, but as our nation soldiered on, Memorial Day came to recognize and pay tribute to those lost in all our wars.

The Vietnam War dominated the news and our lives in my earlier years. I missed that one by a fluke of timing, but I knew three fine young men who made the ultimate sacrifice: Stephen Ponty (he was only 19 when he died in Vietnam), Timothy Ochs (who was 21 when he died over there), and Gary Buttenbaum (who was 23 when he was killed in action in Vietnam). All three were from my neighborhood in central Jersey, and they were just a bit older than me. I never met Colin MacManus (Captain MacManus was 25 when he was killed), but I feel like I know him and I think about him a lot, too. I think about all of them, and I wonder what they might have become had they returned from Vietnam. I’ve seen their names (along with more than 58,000 others) on the Wall in Washington, DC. Not that I need to. I know who they are.

You don’t thank veterans for their service on Memorial Day (that’s what Veteran’s Day is for); you remember and think about those who did not come home. I usually head to the range on Memorial Day with two of my favorite military weapons (the Garand and the 1911), and I think about Tim, Steve, Gary, and Colin. Rest in peace, my brothers. Your memories live on.