So it's Memorial Day and this is not an official episode of Survival Podcast. I've run an article on the bet on the website

Every Memorial Day since Survival Podcast was first established. So it was established in June of 2008. So this article has been run and it has been updated every year since 2009.

I thought about it and while I take Memorial Day off to be with my family doing a reading of it well it won't take very long.

So I'm putting that out in today's feed knowing that it will reach far more people as an audio file than it will as an article as it has been in this form for well 13 years now.

The article is titled Please Remember the Real Meaning of Memorial Day.

The Survival Podcast will return tomorrow. I take this day off with my family and like most of America I will leave you with these thoughts on this day.

Today is Memorial Day and I wanted to take a moment to remind everyone of what Memorial Day is all about. Many well-meaning people even get it wrong in a way.

My inbox tends to fill up with thanks for your service emails around Memorial Day. I appreciate it. There's nothing wrong with thanking a vet today. Yet it is not really a day to thank vets like many people seem to believe it to be.

It seems to me that many think Memorial Day is like Veterans Day part two. It isn't. Again no day is a bad day to thank a vet but if we become convinced that Memorial Day is about those of us who served and came back home we missed the point.

Memorial Day is more somber. It is about those who fell in battle and never again got up. It is about those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

It bluntly is about those who died. Today at some point just pause and think about that. Think about the 4,400 of our U.S. service members that have fallen in Iraq, the 2,300 plus in Afghanistan, the 47,000 in Vietnam, 33,000 in Korea, 291,000 in World War II, 53,000 in World War I.

Or perhaps the 212,000 that fell on both sides in the war between the states. You don't have to be for any war past or present to respect men and women who will give their lives for what they believe and fight the wars that politicians initiate.

There are days for just about everything now. Days for bosses, secretaries, days for this and that, and anything Hallmark can come up with.

What you won't find in most greeting card stores though is the Memorial Day card because those who would receive the card can't open it, read it, and feel good that someone cares.

All they can hope for is that someone remembers their sacrifice, perhaps a flower or a wreath on their graves, if they even have one, or a calm rad who is now living with zeal for the life in their memory.

Memorial Day, my friends, is to remember those who served and died. Enjoy the day off if you have it. Just try to remember the cost of this day.

Some say you can't count the cost. Sadly you can and the numbers are very large. If you want to put it in perspective, just view the US military casualties of war page on Wikipedia.

I will end with this though. There are some that begrudge all the backyard barbecues trips to the beach and flat out simply enjoying a day off.

They seem to feel we should all wear sackcloths and put ashes on our faces today. I disagree. In fact, very much so. While I truly feel our nation should stop interfering around the world in so many ways, I know the hearts of those who serve. They believe in what they are defending.

And a family in a backyard joyfully sharing each other's company symbolizes that better than any statue, wall, or memorial ever could.

It's okay to be happy today. Those who fell would want you to. Just take a simple moment in this day and recall their sacrifice.

Post script. I've wrote this same article simply adjusting the numbers of the fallen for the current conflicts is necessary for almost as long as the survival podcast has existed. This year I felt compelled to add this addendum.

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