Memorial Day: Remember all or Just Military?

May 21, 2013, in Military Life by Amy Bushatz

Memorial Day is one of those holidays where the true meaning gets lost in the shuffle. First there’s the confusion over what Memorial Day is even about. Then there’s the question of who it is for.

My favorite way to prepare my 4-year-old for upcoming events or challenges is through library books. Since we’ll soon be attending a Memorial Day run and remembrance ceremony, I want to at least give him a point of reference on the subject.

But it took me by surprise when one of the children’s books we acquired suggested that Memorial Day is a day that people remember those who have died – regardless of whether they served. In the past, they said, it was just for the military. But now it’s just for any one who wants to have memorial-ish feelings for anyone else, no matter who they are or what they did.

Wait, what?

But this Memorial Day-for-all business confused me.

And I didn’t exactly believe it. Really? Memorial Day is for everyone? We’ve really become THAT inclusive? Surely this book is just an anomaly, happily spreading misinformation to the children of the world.

And so I turned to the sum of all wisdom: Wikipedia.

“By the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as people visited the graves of their deceased relatives in church cemeteries, whether they had served in the military or not.”

Now, I don’t envy the ability of those who have lost members of their family — no matter who they are or what they did in life — to remember them. Certainly that is important, appropriate and necessary.

But I do envy their time and actions on this one day — the last Monday in May. Memorial Day, you will recall was founded after the American Civil War as “Decoration Day” – a day set aside to decorate the graves of the fallen.

We’ve been so well supplied since then with fallen heroes of other conflicts that the tradition has carried on.

But it, apparently, hasn’t carried well enough. What does it say about our society that we cannot take even one day to remember SPECIFICALLY the fallen of war?

How can we expect Americans to honor any service if we can’t even pause to remember for just 24 hours those who made the ultimate sacrifice?

No, people of America, Memorial Day’s meaning is not of marking the life of all of your loved ones. It is for honoring the service and sacrifice of the fallen. Please remember that.

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is withholding bonuses for senior officials who oversee disability claims, citing a failure to meet performance goals for reducing a sizable backlog in claims processing.

The backlog has increased dramatically over the past three years, and the department has come under intense criticism from veterans groups and members of Congress who have asked President Barack Obama to try to speed the process.

VA spokesman Josh Taylor said Monday the savings would be used to help reduce the backlog. He didn’t provide specifics, nor could he say how many people would be affected or how much the savings would be. The withholdings apply only to executives of the Veterans Benefits Administration, which is part of the VA.

“We remain confident that VBA senior executives are dedicated to our nation’s veterans, and they will continue to lead our drive toward VA’s goal: eliminating the claims backlog in 2015,” Taylor said.

In all, records show the VA paid its senior executives a total of $2.8 million in bonuses in fiscal year 2011. Among the VBA bonuses, three staff members received the top payment of $23,091 each.

The amount of the bonuses was first reported by the Center for Investigative Reporting.

The number of disability claims pending for longer than 125 days jumped from less than 200,000 to nearly 500,000 in fiscal 2011.

“How does the department expect to turn things around when it is rewarding employees and managers for falling behind?” said Rep. Jeff Miller, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

The VA and other federal departments routinely give bonuses to Senior Executive Service workers and other non-political employees. The Office of Personnel Management put new limits into place in June 2011. The VA’s total spending for executives bonuses reflected those restrictions and dropped about 25 percent that year.

Miller said he was pleased the bonuses were halted.

“One can only wonder what effect this sort of policy may have had if VA had instituted it years ago,” he said.

Political appointees such as Allison Hickey, who oversees the Veterans Benefits Administration, are not offered the bonuses.

Remembering Bataan

Editor’s note: In the Human Factor, we profile survivors who have overcome the odds. Confronting a life obstacle — injury, illness or other hardship — they tapped their inner strength and found resilience they didn’t know they possessed. This week we introduce you to 92-year-old Lester Tenney, a survivor of the Bataan Death March during World War II. Tenney went on to become a college professor, write a book and found Care Packages from Home, a nonprofit, volunteer group that sends care packages to U.S. troops.

(CNN) — Seventy-one years have passed since that ninth day of April, 1942, on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines, where we witnessed the defeat of a once-proud Army.

It was where Gen. Edward King, commander of all U.S. armed forces on Bataan, told his men,

“We have no further means of organized resistance, we are low on ammunition, have virtually no medical supplies, and our food is all but gone. Our front lines are destroyed and both flanks severely weakened. The situation has become hopeless.”

Then he continued, “If I do not surrender all forces to the Japanese today, Bataan will be known around the world as the greatest slaughter in history.” Continue reading →

Infantry Shut to Women; Do They Want It Open?

Jan 07, 2013

Associated Press| by Pauline Jelinek

WASHINGTON — If or when the Pentagon lets women become infantry troops — the country’s front-line warfighters — how many women will want to?

The answer is probably not many.

Interviews with a dozen female soldiers and Marines showed little interest in the toughest fighting jobs. They believe they’d be unable to do them, even as the Defense Department inches toward changing its rules to allow women in direct ground combat jobs. Continue reading →

Women Break Ground in Combat Roles

Apr 01, 2013

Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer| by Drew Brooks

The question of whether women can serve in Army roles previously restricted to men is being answered on Fort Bragg, where the male-only world of artillery has opened to female soldiers.

Last summer, the 18th Fires Brigade began a pilot program aimed at introducing female officers to what were once all-male units.

The program began even before then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced the repeal of rules against women serving in male-only positions. Continue reading →

Hagel Repeals Drone Service Medal

Apr 15, 2013

by Brendan McGarry

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has repealed a medal created just two months ago to recognize the achievements of drone pilots and cyber specialists, ordering that a separate “distinguishing device” be used instead. Continue reading →