Happy Memorial Day. We are officially allowed to say that. I attended a Memorial Day service this morning, and the Commanding General of Fort Jackson, Major General James Milano, stated that the day was not for mourning but for celebrating the lives of those upon whose shoulders we all stand. Okay. I hope he excuses me for mourning them just a little bit...
The event began at 0900 at the Jackson Memorial at Gate 1. There were soldiers dressed in period uniforms from WWI through the present. While we were waiting for the event to start, an elderly man in a WWII uniform approached me and said, "Shalom! Mah Nishma?" Turns out he is a local Catholic guy who is obsessed with the Jews. He has been studying conversational Hebrew at the local Reform Temple. He confided that he wanted to convert, but his wife - a devout Catholic - will have none of it! What a gem!
After the opening prayer and the General's speech, there was a wreath-laying ceremony by the head of the local Veterans' Widows organization. That was followed by a 21-gun salute - but not rifles... GUNS! As in, CANNONS! They were behind me and there was no warning when they went off - I thought I soiled my uniform... (but I didn't...)
 |
| Color Guard |
 |
| Major General Milano speaking (sorry for the weird color - I don't know what happaned) |
|
 |
| The General assisting two widows with the wreath |
|
 |
| The canons firing - notice the plume of smoke from the one to the right - it just fired (you can't see the third gun all the way to the right) |
|
 |
| After a few more rounds - notice how thick the smoke is! |
 |
| The Andrew Jackson Memorial |
 |
| WWII Memorial |
Afterwards, I decided to try out the ol' knee - so I went to the gym and, lo and behold, I got in a good three-mile run! Afterwards, I decided to go see "Pirates of the Caribbean," and when a friend of mine dropped off the keys, he asked me where I was going. He indicated he wanted to go as well, which was great - there are few things more lame and depressing than going to a movie theater alone!
I came home and studied for the big test tomorrow - wish me luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment