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Looking At Memorial Day Through The Eyes Of Our Veterans

photo provided John Mitchell served his country in the US Navy from July 1967 to his retirement in April 1996.

Friday May 24, 2013

By Cookie Steponaitis

On Memorial Day a grateful nation pauses to pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in order that this nation might live. President Lincoln reflected long ago at Gettysburg that, “it is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.” However, when the flags return to flying high on the poles and life returns to its normal patterns, how does each American reflect on the freedoms so nonchalantly taken for granted by millions each day? The answer is sadly that many do not and just travel through life with little thought to how we got here and to whom we owe thanks. Looking at Memorial Day through the eyes and words of our veterans is a different way to approach this national holiday and one that causes all of us to pause, reflect and comprehend that freedom is not free and it comes with responsibilities.

    Veteran John Mitchell’s understanding of military service derives from the example set by his father who served in World War II. “My father was proud of his Army service,” shared Major Mitchell. “Although he never pushed it, it was apparent to me that I was expected to do my service when the time came.” While he always assumed he would go into the military at some point Mitchell graduated from college in 1967 when men who were not married or deferred for graduate school were being drafted. Mitchell had joined the Army ROTC during his freshman year. However, he quickly figured out that his passion for the Navy could not be squelched and joined the Naval Reserve and attended Navy OCS during two college summers. He was commissioned after graduation and went off to active duty and to, “see the world,” serving from July 1967 to his retirement in April 1996. Mitchell served at two overseas locations, the Philippines and Spain and during those tours spent a great deal of time at sea in the Tonkin Gulf and the Mediterranean. He was also assigned to Monterey, California, and served multiple tours in Washington, D.C., Norfolk, Virginia, Pensacola, Florida and Winter Harbor, Maine.

    Mitchell, like many who have served feels that there are misconceptions regarding military service in America and that many forget it is a volunteer service. “Because we've been in an all-volunteer force mode for a long time now there are relatively few Americans who have the experience of being in the military or having a member of their family serve,” remarked John Mitchell. “As you know at one time it was a rite of passage for the majority of American males to serve in the military. Without that experience there are fewer Americans who really understand what sacrifices are required to deploy overseas, relocate due to transfer every two - four years, have little control over where you live and work, etc. For better or worse the last ten years have given many Vermonters a better understanding of these things due to the heavy load the Vermont National Guard has shouldered in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

    While Memorial Day has deep personal meaning to each American veteran who has served, to John Mitchell and many others the Voice spoke with it is an opportunity to remember the ultimate sacrifice of many so that people can live in freedom. Also seen by many as the unofficial beginning of summer it holds both a solemn and a celebratory function in many American homes. “Probably every Vermonter knows a family in which a member has returned from war with a physical or psychological injury or who has not returned at all,” commented John Mitchell. “This may bring home the message of what Memorial Day is all about a little more forcefully, although it is an unfortunate way to do it. I must say that during my eight years in the Vergennes/Ferrisburgh area I have been incredibly impressed at the effort put forth by the local public and private schools to stage events for both high school and elementary school kids to try to get across the real meaning of Memorial Day. I've told old Navy friends with whom I still keep in touch about the assemblies that the schools here do for Memorial and Veterans Days and most of them think it's really neat since they know of no similar efforts in their communities.”

    As Vermont again moves into summer venues and Vergennes again hosts the largest parade in the state marking the Memorial Day Weekend, John Mitchell will be found in the park and speaking to the assembled crowd of all ages. While Mitchell acknowledges that Memorial Day will not be seen the same way by each person, he does see a change and a return to thanking and remembering those who served. “When I was a really small kid, World War II wasn't that long ago and most Americans still had vivid memories of what their men and women had done for the world,” concluded Mitchell. “During and immediately after Vietnam there was probably less emphasis on honoring those who died in service because that war was not universally supported. These days although there are widely divergent opinions on the wisdom of our war efforts, I think the pendulum has swung back to showing much more respect for those who serve and, by extension, more reverence for those who died doing so.”

    So grab your family, your hotdogs and balloons and come to Vergennes on Memorial Day to share a tradition sponsored by the American Legion and celebrate Memorial Day with a parade and loved ones. Yet, as the floats go by, the guns go off and the words flow from those gathered to share, remember those who are not present and gave their lives for an ideal, a nation and a people who were from 1776 an, “experiment in democracy and freedom.” We are reminded from the lines in the famed WWI poem written by Lt. Colonel John McCrae Flanders Field. “We are the dead. Short days ago we lived, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw: The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.”

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