The Real Significance of Memorial Day

As a teenager, I remember my Dad – a combat veteran of fierce fighting in North Africa, Sicily, Anzio, Salerno, and Monte Cassino- pouring three glasses of single malt with his friend “Snake” on Memorial Day in a toast to their fallen friends. One for each of them, one for those who never came back.  They never really spoke much about it, but had plainly seen far too much as young men and carried physical and emotional scars with them for the rest of their lives.  And, at that moment, I thought about the significance of the third glass and realized the true meaning of Memorial Day.