Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer season—the time to get away for the weekend, or relax in the backyard with family and friends, fire up the grill, and enjoy the day with a favorite beverage in hand. It’s a day off of work for many, and it’s also the time when we’re swarmed by Memorial Day sales and promotions, scattered across the virtual and media landscape.
Amid all of this, the true meaning of Memorial Day often fades into the background or gets lost altogether.
As a veteran-owned and operated company, The Cuyahoga Group offers a reminder that Memorial Day is a federal day of observance. Together, we stand in honor and remembrance of the men and women of the U.S. military who died while in service to our country.
The wearing of poppies in honor of America’s war dead is traditionally done on Memorial Day. The origin of the red poppy as a modern-day symbol of this day was the idea of Moina Belle Michael who worked with veterans returning home for war. Inspired by the poem, In Flanders Fields, she initiated the idea of selling silk poppies to financially assist disabled veterans.
So, on this Monday, May 28, 2018, let us all take a moment to honor and remember our women and men in uniform who paid the ultimate price in defending our freedoms.
And, instead of hurriedly walking by the veteran who is selling poppies to raise funds for veterans services, or for the local VFW hall, let’s take a moment to stop and say ‘thank you’ for their service and sacrifice.
Today and every day, we salute all of our United States veterans.
Memory from Sherry: “For many years Uncle Joe, Uncle Nick and my Dad marched in the parade. I also marched with the Girl Scouts! I was so proud to do that. Always after the parade to the cemetery we would go to the VFW broadway and Forbes road. Shots and beers were the drinks of the day!”
Picture: Memorial Day parade Bedford Ohio circa 1960. The gentleman holding the American flag is Joseph Wasko (Army Air Force in the South Pacific during World War II), Sherry Variglottis’ Father.
