I was going to talk about the history of Memorial Day as having started as Decoration Day in the 1800s. A more formal Decoration Day started during the Civil War when women decorated the graves of soldiers. No one seems to know exactly where it started or when, though several locations claim that distinction. The "celebration" of Memorial Day became Federal law in 1967.
But unfortunately what's caught my attention in the last couple of days is the coverage (Doonesbury, TV news) of veteran suicides. Apparently the VA does not keep track of the number of suicides. It appears to be a silent national epidemic. Hundreds of thousands of vets at a minimum have allegedly committed suicide. The current claims are that at least 120 vets commit suicide each week. Some counter sources are saying that the above numbers are baloney. Regardless the numbers are eye opening, and sad.
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