Memorial Day weekend is coming up — what are your plans? Do you have a traditional event, or do you do something different each year? Have a family/friends BBQ? Watch a Memorial Day parade? Attend a ceremony for fallen military? We usually get together with our Metcalf family & friends for a cookout at the Mound in Miamisburg. It doesn’t always go as planned, but it’s a fun time had by all. Who doesn’t love a picnic? We used to attend the parade but since we’ve gotten older, we usually just help set up for the Family Reunion instead. I love to sit & watch the family play baseball. That’s an event unto itself.
Do you &/or family participate in public Memorial Day events? Are you or a family member marching in a parade? Placing flags on gravestones? Visiting a veterans’ home? There are many opportunities this weekend to show your appreciation to veterans & their families. Have a family/friends BBQ?
Memorial Day weekend marks the official start of summer “YEAH,” which means that the season for road trips is upon us. This year, however, traveling by car is going to cost you quite a bit more than it did last year. I hope you won’t let that stop you from attending all those backyard barbecues and graduations this week. It’s our chance to ask all of those silly questions about our families that we tend to annoy them the rest of the year. They’re relaxed and will usually talk for hours. Don’t forget to bring a notebook to jot it all down. I know that I still have a lot of unanswered questions. Lots of blanks to fill on branch members lives. Their military records are an easy way to get vital statics on a person. It’s how we finally found Samuel “Dalton” Metcalf’s middle name, when his own children didn’t know what the ‘D” stood for. So, don’t be afraid to ask about their military records and experiences. You can learn a lot about family you didn’t even know existed or had a chance to meet.
Happy Memorial Day, with much gratitude to all those whom have served, and continue to serve, this country. We’re thankful for this day of remembrance and chance to show our appreciation.
The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country ~ George S. Patton Jr.
Metcalf Family Mews 