Is that not a stupid phrase? What the hell is happy about Memorial Day? Where the hell is a draft when you need one? Then I wouldn't be subjected to chirpy little waitpersons wishing me "Happy Memorial Day". They'd be clearing houses in the Sunni Triangle instead of thinking this is the day that kicks off their Summer of drinking and getting laid. I had friends in the Army that died under all sorts of circumstances---official wars, "police actions" being in the wrong place at the wrong time, plane crashes, suicides...There's a pretty high body count even when there isn't a big war in the news. I doubt their families want to be wished a happy Memorial Day.
Old Army person story: My unit had our official Battalion picnic one year, it was probably a lot like a civilian company picnic. People brought their families, young singles (like me) got drunk and said stupid shit to people who were in charge of them, and we had competitive games between the different companies for bragging rights. The tug-of war was brutal and usually resulted in subsequent knee surgeries for several participants. My favorite was the chariot race--each company built a chariot, the Commander was the driver and had several "horses", the biggest and fastest guys in the unit. It looked like a scene from "Ben Hur" with collisions and dirty tricks all around.
Anyway, one year we had our picnic on a road that went to the drop zones (landing spots for paratrooper practice jumps) on Ft. Bragg. Around mid-afternoon we saw a big cloud of smoke to the East. Then emergency vehicles. Then the MP's blocked off the road. They said there had been a flight demonstration for families at one of the DZ's, and the plane (I think a C-130) had crashed. About this time a Nissan truck came speeding up to the road blockade, and one of several guys in the back yelled "we're SF (Special Forces) medics!". The MP's moved the barricade quickly and the medics sped off. The sad thing was that our Battalion picnic rolled right along. There was a little somberness, but we just kind of shrugged and went back to the party. It wasn't unusual enough to stop our routine.
