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| The colombarium at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl crater. |
On this Memorial Day, 2013, two of the longest-running wars in U.S history are winding down. In our circle of acquaintances we know only a few who have served in Afghanistan or Iraq and "only" one who has been killed.
In our fathers' time, enlistment in the armed forces was ubiquitous and expected. For baby boomers, military service was less common and usually the luck of the draw. And, for the current generation, service is rarer still.
Regardless of the reason they donned the uniform, the men and women whom we recognize today are lauded for their sacrifice. We the living may disagree over policy, but there are no disagreements about honoring their memory. In that sense we've all grown up a little over the past 40 years. © 2013 Stephen Yuen
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