The true meaning of Memorial Day is boundless

by Mary Jo David

I think I’ve always been aware of the true meaning behind Memorial Day. But it was when my own son joined the Marines that the heartache of the parents and families of the fallen really hit home for me. Soon after Jordan enlisted, I had the good fortune to learn about the Michigan Military Moms—a large Detroit-area group that had convened for the sole purpose of supporting one another and our military sons and daughters. 

For four years, family and friends knew better than to try to hone in on my every-other-Thursday-night meetings with those moms. I daresay most of us moms joined for comfort and camaraderie, and I often credit the group with getting me through Jordan’s two wartime deployments to the Middle East, including seven months in Iraq. 

At the same time, my association with this wonderful group meant I was no longer only worrying about my own son but about all the sons and daughters of the moms I met. One of the first weeks I attended, I was introduced to a mom whose daughter had been killed in Iraq the year before. And Memorial Day took on new meaning. Over time, I attended the military funerals of two more sons whose moms I knew through MMM. And Memorial Day took on more meaning. In the midst of those years, a second cousin’s son from the Canadian side of the family was killed in Afghanistan. And for me, the meaning of Memorial Day was no longer bound by borders.

The range of emotions all of us moms experienced during those years is impossible to describe. While it might be hard to imagine, we found reasons to celebrate, and powerful friendships were cemented. Jordan and the sons and daughters of most of those moms I’ve stayed in touch with have long since completed their enlistments. But the heartache did not end with the enlistments. 

Three more of their sons have since died in the prime of their lives, and although these young men were no longer serving at the time, I will always think of them as the Marines they were. And Memorial Day makes room for those memories as well.