Today is Memorial Day and you are probably enjoying a holiday from school or work. Following the Civil War, communities set aside this day as a day of remembrance for those who died in our nation's military service. Many people observe the holiday by putting flowers on graves of family members and servicemen. Find more information about the holiday at U.S. Memorial Day.org.You will read there how many Americans use the three day weekend to vacation without thinking about the reason for the holiday. To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to the emotionally moving bugle call 'Taps."
Local services for Memorial Day are listed on the City's website. Come to Central Park at 3:30 p.m. for a moving tribute at the Santa Clara Veterans Memorial behind the Community Recreation Center near Kiely Blvd. and pictured above. Or you can try this book the next time you visit the library:
Sacred ground : a tribute to America's veterans / [compiled by] Tom Ruck is a collection of beautiful photos of national cemeteries and essays and addresses in honor of military dead.
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