Memorial Day is coming up and looks like a three-day weekend for most people. A chance to go to the lake, barbecue in the backyard, and maybe even make a mattress sale. I’ll be the first to admit, I get Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day confused at times. I took a little time this past week to get clarity on what each day means and while we celebrate them. The word “celebrate” is not the correct word to use for Memorial Day. I can understand celebrating our military veterans on Veterans Day with parades and accolades for their bravery. But Memorial Day takes on a different tone, or at least it should. Memorial Day is a solemn occasion for remembrance of our fallen soldiers.

Here are the key differences between Veterans Day and Memorial Day:

Memorial Day honors military personnel who died in service to the country, while Veterans Day honors all military veterans, both living and deceased, for their service.

A few years ago, I was in Washington DC visiting my youngest son and I went for a stroll down the National Mall along the Reflecting Pool. I walked up the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and stood in the exact spot where Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. There were people all around me visiting, taking pictures, and having a good time. It had the atmosphere of a City Park. I walked down the steps back towards the Capitol and I stumbled onto the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I had not planned to visit it, but I recognized it immediately.

Structurally there was nothing spectacular about it. It is a long, black, cold, polished granite wall. Unlike the picnic atmosphere surrounding the Lincoln Memorial, those gathered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were in complete silence. Nobody was laughing or taking stupid selfies. It was complete silence. Walking, I could see my reflection bounce off of the granite as I stared at all the names etched into the wall. People were on their knees praying, laying flowers at the base of the wall, using sketch paper to trace the names of loved ones lost. People were sobbing and comforting each other. It was emotionally moving; the weight and sorrow of the moment caught me completely off guard.

I was too young to remember much about the Vietnam War, but without question it left a massive scar on our country. I decided to do a little research on the memorial to educate myself. I was shocked and humbled by what I discovered.

• There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. Unbelievably, names are still being added today.
• The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized.
• There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.
• 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.
• 8,283 were just 19 years old.
• The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
• Twelve soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.
• Five soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.
• One soldier was 15 years old.
• 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.
• 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam.
• 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.
• 31 sets of parents lost two of their sons.
• 8 Women are on the Wall, nursing the wounded.

What I found most shocking is that over 33,000 of those 58,000 names were 18-year-old boys, not quite men. I get worried when my kids don’t answer their cell phone the first time I call. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like for a parent to send their child straight from high school graduation to fight a war thousands of miles away. That takes gut wrenching faith to a completely new level.

Again, almost 33,000 were only 18 years old. How’s that for a senior trip?

If you visit D.C, go walk along that long, black, polished granite wall and think about all those young men that never had the chance to watch their kids play t-ball, get married, start a business, or pursue their dreams. Their lives ended before they even started. If that does not make you grateful, then nothing will.

I had no idea so many died, so young, so long ago, and so far, away from home. Sad is an understatement. And I thought COVID-19 was tough on kids.

So, there’s not much I can do to express my sorrow and my gratitude to all those who have died for our country in the wars America has fought. But I will put my flag out in front of my house this weekend in honor of them all. I will take time to pause and thank God for their sacrifice and pray for their families even though I don’t know who they are, but God hears my prayers. And I will thank the creator of the universe for allowing me to live in a country as great as the United States of America. There is simply no better place to live on the planet, and we have every veteran, living and deceased, to thank for that.

God Bless America.