Let’s remind ourselves who we memorialize and why

One somber way to think of Memorial Day is to count the number of those who have died in service of this great, good country. Official totals say that figure is at least 1,354,664. The number causes a lump in the throat and a very large twinge in the heart.

Still, numbers are rather antiseptic. They hide the individuals, cannot account for the pain and suffering, and pay no homage in themselves to the causes for which those individuals died. The numbers are sobering but not inspirational.