We gold star families would like to ask people to begin educating themselves on the history of Memorial Day.
I did not have the opportunity to teach this person and her husband the definition of gold star families who have suffered the death of a loved one like our son, who took a bullet through the neck and back in Baghdad while saving the lives of his commanding officer, first sergeant and eight other comrades.
We gold star families would also like to ask people to begin educating themselves on the history of Memorial Day, originally Decoration Day, to decorate the gravesites of those who died in war beginning after the Civil War. We also ask for people not to say �Happy Memorial Day� to those still serving because they are suffering anxiety from a day called to remember comrades they saw die.
We saw and heard so much about the living on Memorial Day, but no one calling the names of �dead� warriors or �veterans.� �Memorial� means serving as a remembrance of a person. There is Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day. Why can�t Memorial Day be remembered for its accurate history and honor those like our son and Navy SEALs who were butchered on a mountaintop by the enemy?
For those who don�t really know what Memorial Day is about, please pick up a dictionary or history book and learn so you can understand it is about the dead and those left behind. It�s our one national day to remember and hope our communities and nation will, yet our loved ones who died horrific deaths don�t even have names for the majority. So next year, go here.
Editor�s note: Deborah Tainsh and her husband Dave Tainsh are the parents of U.S. Army Sgt. Patrick Tainsh, who was killed Feb. 11, 2004 in Iraq. They also are founders of Hearts for Military Heroes, Inc., a Florida not-for-profit organization.