On Monday, thousands of veterans across America will bow their heads in silence. The only sound will be the bugles in the background; tears swelling as “Taps” echoes among monuments of granite.
But for a younger generation, Memorial Day means something very different. For millions of college students, there is no war that stands as a defining moment in their lives.
They never had to watch their comrades die in battle.
And so, for them, this day is time of celebration to be with their families and loved ones - and to kick off the unofficial start of summer.
Memorial Day was once like that for Lansing resident Joe Kish. Not anymore.
“When I was younger, I probably looked at it the same way,” the World War II Navy veteran said. “Never figured I’d get old.
“At my age it probably means a lot more to me than it does to the younger generation because a lot of my friends have passed on and I remember them.”
Kish, 77, is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 701, 123 N. Rosemary Ave. in Lansing. Like thousands of other veterans groups, Kish and his VFW comrades will honor those who have died in U.S. wars. The local post will host a memorial service at 1 p.m. at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, 4444 W. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, and then a cookout at the VFW hall following the service.
The service has been a tradition for about 15 years. Members also will travel to area cemeteries to place 1,600 U.S. flags on the graves of veterans to show their respect for America’s fallen heroes, Quartermaster Bob Vine said.
But for so many of a younger generation, Memorial Day is something very different.
Gary Hoppenstand, an MSU associate professor of American Thought and Language and a pop culture expert, said that’s because students haven’t experienced a war on the scale of WWII, the Korean War or the Vietnam War.
So many of the soldiers in that battle never saw home again.
“War had a profound impact on American society,” he said.
“We’ve had tragedy,” Hoppenstand said, referring to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, “but it’s not the same kind of thing.
“With World War II there was a more intimate relationship with the sacrifice involved - that’s what Memorial Day is all about, remembering those who served.”
Perhaps that’s why advertising senior Jessica Roberts won’t spend time honoring veterans Monday, even though both her grandfathers were veterans.
“We’ve never really celebrated it with them,” she said.
Instead, she’ll be working, although she had hoped to go home to see her family in Harbor Beach.
To Roberts, the holiday is a time to be with family. She said she usually spends the holiday with her grandmother since her grandfather died.
Telecommunication junior Joe Turner also uses the holiday to be with his family. He plans to travel home to Lake Orion for Memorial Day.
“I usually go home and then we usually go out with my grandparents,” said Turner, who added he can see how his grandfather, a veteran, views the holiday differently.
“Whereas we probably look at it as this is his day, he’s probably thinking more this is like everybody else who fought with him,” Turner said. “He’s doesn’t think of it as his day, he’s probably thinking more about the people who didn’t make it.”
But Lansing resident Al Trendel hopes the Sept. 11 attacks have brought new meaning to the holiday for some younger people.
“Well since 9-11, they’re being more conscious now,” said Trendel, considered the “kid” of the VFW post because he is a Korean War Air Force veteran. “With the meaning and the flag and so on, because they didn’t know before.
“They took everything for granted.”
Staff writer Kurt Ludke contributed to this report.
Amy Bartner can be reached at bartnera@msu.edu.
