Memorial Day 2008
Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
‘Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
When sung properly, this song gives me chills.
It’s very seldom sung properly, but the fact that we still sing it before every event in which a large group of Americans are present (or presumed to be present) is awesome.
I come from a healthy stock of Marine and Army soldiers. I’m fairly certain that every branch of the military is represented somewhere in my enormous family.
I’ve written about my paternal grandfather before - see here.
My maternal grandparents are former Marines, and are now both active members of the Marine Corps League (my grandmother moreso than my grandfather). My grandmother was the first female Commandant of the Tennessee chapter of the MCL several years ago. That’s pretty cool.
But today, as much as it makes me happy to do so, is not about remembering those who are still with us. That’s what Veteran’s Day is for. Memorial Day is for remembering and honoring those who cannot be with us because they died while making sure we could go on about our lives as usual.
At 3pm this afternoon, please offer up a minute of silence to remember these fallen heroes - no matter who they were or what they were doing while they perished, at some point they were engaged in activities that centered around preserving our way of life.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy Memorial/Remembrance Day.
Oh, yeah, me too on the emotional effects. Also, it’s not that hard to sing, if one remembers he’s a boy and starts out low enough.
The best way to perform it is the afterburner arrangement, in which I got to participate twice, once in rehearsal, once at the Orange Bowl game in 1967. We used the Fillmore “trumpeting” arrangement at a good quick tempo, and right about “rockets’ red glare”, a coupla F-4s flew over and lit burners.
It was magnificent. We really did have the coolest High School band in the state of Florida.
Umm, maybe 1968?