Monday, 28 May 2012

In honor of Memorial Day the WOD for today is simply getting outside and taking a minute to appreciate the Land of the Free because of the brave men and women who have put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe!  Run, bike, swim, walk, ruck, play a pick-up game of basketball, whatever it is, just make sure you break a sweat!   Thousands of men and women have given their lives in service to the Nation in order to allow us to live in freedom.  Do not forget their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families.

If you are interested in taking more of an active role in supporting the Nation's veterans through fitness, check out www.teamRWB.org  Team Red, White, and Blue is an excellent organization that helps to reintegrate Veteran's by engaging in physical activity such as CrossFit, running, triathlons, etc.

Even though we often take Memorial Day for granted and only think of cookouts, fun, and a day off from work, you should do your best to remember WHY we have this holiday.  I've included an excerpt from Wikipedia about the history of Memorial Day and an interesting note about the positioning and significance of flags on Memorial Day.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United States on the last Monday of May.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.



On Memorial Day the flag is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Post your activities to comments and if you would like to memorialize a friend, comrade, classmate, relative, or anyone else who has paid the ultimate sacrifice to the Nation you certainly can.

2 comments:

Chelley said...

Happy Memorial Day - today I'm an remembering Sergeant Michael Merilla - he was a young, bright, and motivated legal clerk assigned to 1-14 Cavarly Regiment during our deployment to Tal Afar, Iraq in '03. He volunteered to serve as a gunner on convoys even though his job did not require it. A few weeks prior to his death he was the gunner on a truck I was on when we hit an IED. Even though he was shaken up, he volunteered to go "outside the wire" on many other occasions. He was a brave young man and a great Soldier. He will be missed but never forgotten!

leighgust said...

Our girls wore blue and ran 7(+) miles here at West Point to honor the service and sacrifice of 1LT Tyler Brown, 1-9 IN, 2ID, Ramadi. He was killed in Sept. '04.