Our Take: Memorial Day should be about more than boat, burgers and beer

For too many of us, Memorial Day means the unofficial start of summer.

It’s become a holiday weekend at the lake, a day at the beach, a grill loaded with hamburgers and hot dogs. While this is all good, clean fun, Memorial Day means so much more than a Monday off work.

Shortly after the Civil War, what became Memorial Day began as “Decoration Day” at the end of May, when people from both the North and South would place flowers and other decorations on the graves of soldiers killed in the war.

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The War Between the States was the deadliest of conflicts for Americans, more so than both World Wars combined. An estimated 620,000 died in the Civil War, compared to about 405,000 in the World War II. In all, more than 1.3 million U.S. soldiers are believed to have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms since the American Revolution.

We should give Memorial Day the respect it deserves by being careful not to disrespect it or our military men and women. 

First, we all need to recognize that Veterans Day and Memorial Day are not the same. It’s certainly OK – and even encouraged – to thank a soldier for his or her service on Veterans Day and pretty much every other day, but it’s frowned upon on Memorial Day. 

And never, ever wish anyone, especially a veteran, a “Happy Memorial Day!”

An easy way to honor our fallen veterans next Monday is with a full minute of silence to observe  the National Moment of Remembrance, held each year at 3 p.m. Sixty seconds does not seem a lot to ask, considering they gave up a lifetime.