Don't Thank Me, Remember The Fallen

Memorial Day 1999: I was a young team leader stationed in north Italy with the U.S. Army’s Southern European Task force. I was nearing the end of my enlistment, and I was planning to leave the military and pursue college and a civilian career. Several of us had been selected for a detail at the Florence American Cemetery in Florence, Italy. I didn’t have a good understanding of what the ceremony was, but I volunteered to be a part of the setup crew thinking I was getting an easier duty.

The ceremony was long; lots of generals from the U.S. and Italy, talking about wars that happened in my grandfather's time. I tried to pay attention, but I didn’t really appreciate what was happening. After the ceremony, a few of us were busy picking up chairs, making sure the grounds were policed, and smiling for the civilians who had come to see their family members buried there. One gentleman, probably in his mid 50’s, came over to us with a flag. He explained it was his grandfather's, and it had been given to his family when his grandfather was killed during service in World War II in Italy. He was there with his family to visit the grave on this particular Memorial Day from somewhere in the States. The flag was loosely folded, but not properly. He asked us if we would fold it over his grandfather's grave. We were all a little moved, and didn’t know how to respond, but luckily my squad leader had the presence of mind to get us moving, and we performed the flag folding ceremony for the gentleman. After we presented it to him, he thanked us and walked off with a tear in his eye. We didn’t say much, as we quietly reflected on what had just taken place.

I never got his name, and I don’t have a picture of the ceremony, which is disappointing. That day made military service incredibly real. More than the daily tasks we were assigned, more than the deployments to countries we couldn’t pronounce, more than the friendships, that day we were there to honor our fallen dead. General George S. Patton said, "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” As you enjoy this weekend with your family, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, don’t thank me for my service, just remember the fallen, those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that the rest of us might live free.