MEMORIAL DAY FOOTNOTE

my thanks to old friend bill in chicago for this link to an article that puts military service and remembrance in a whole new light. on those days when we formally honor veterans, most of us think of conflicts in our lifetimes -- WWII (1939-1945), korea (1950-1953), vietnam (1959-1975), the persian gulf war (1990-1991), iraq and afghanistan (2003-present). yet in the memory of much older family members live the events of WWI (1914-1918), the "war to end all wars". just as many participants in earlier wars are disappearing through attrition and old age, so vets of WWI have nearly vanished completely.

yet, since each conflict helped shape who we as a society are today, it is worth pausing to regard the history in which our parents, grand-parents and great-grandparents lived. war is not some remote, abstract event. it is personal, harrowing, and changes you forever. ask any vet.

i hope that all the links i include in my articles are informative or illuminating for my readers. please check out the link from bill. it tells a story that is timeless.