What does Memorial Day mean to you?  When I was a kid, it was the first big summer holiday.  It meant picnics, flying flags, and the end of school. As a teenager, it still hadn’t sunk in.  Yes, I knew of people who had lost their menfolk during World War II. but Memorial Day was a time for fairs, graduations, and parties, mainly.  My mother always went to the cemetery to decorate her parents’ graves, but it didn’t seem like anything I would want to do.  And then, one day, it all kicked in. My generation’s boyfriends, husbands, and brothers fought in the Korean War.  Some of them came home wounded, or not at all.  The Korean War Memorial is my favorite in Washington, DC.  But at Clinton, Indiana  it’s a simple monument erected by my great, great uncle after the Civil War.   Here’s  a Memorial Day salute to Uncle Ren and Company D. 

 Memorial Day is special for me.  Many of my ancestors and immediate family are buried in a small country cemetery.  Usually, my husband and I drive up to a nearby shelter for a picnic, then over to visit the graves. That’s a hard time for me—missing them so much that a hollow feeling rises in my chest and tears blur my vision.

 After arranging the flowers, the highlight of the day awaits me at the top of a hill, under a towering oak tree.  For there, my great, great, great uncle, Ren White, came back from fighting in the Civil War to erect a memorial to the men who served with him in “Company D.”  Every man in the company is listed, but it doesn’t say which ones didn’t return.  Uncle Ren wasn’t a captain, either—just a mere sergeant.  But when he came home, he spent the time and money to erect this memorial to the men who fought to free this country of slavery.  Wow! Gives me the shivers, just thinking of how proud I am of him.

I wonder what motivated him to enlist. Knowing that branch of the family, I’m sure his motives were not mercenary, because they owned thousands of acres of Indiana farmland. My mother, who loved genealogy, probably knew if Ren had a wife and children, but I don’t.

 Little did he realize that one day, a photo of that thoughtfully erected monument would be shown over the internet.  On this Memorial Day holiday, I salute you, Uncle Ren White, for your courage and patriotism.