Memorial Day is more than a holiday about barbecues and picnics and pool openings.

I realize it’s the official start of summer.

Please don’t wish people, “Happy Memorial Day!”

Please don’t mistake Memorial Day for Veterans Day.

Veterans Day honors those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Armed Forces Day is an unofficial U.S. holiday earlier in May to honor those currently serving in the armed forces.

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for honoring and mourning the military personnel who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.

Many historians date the origins of Memorial Day back to the Civil War.

Volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials on Memorial Day to honor and mourn those who died in military service.

Why Poppies?

In 1915, following the Second Battle of Ypres, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian doctor, wrote the poem, “In Flanders Fields.” Its opening lines refer to the fields of poppies that grew among the soldiers’ graves in Flanders.

In 1918, inspired by the poem, YWCA worker Moina Michael attended a conference wearing a silk poppy pinned to her coat and distributed many poppies to others present. In 1920, the National American Legion adopted the poppy as their official symbol of remembrance.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance on April 25, in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.”

I’m sure each fallen soldier would ask you to remember why you are FREE.

Never forget.

Teach your kids about Memorial Day:

Flanders WWI Sites
Normandy WWII Sites
American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg
Pearl Harbor Sites
How to Memorial Day
Don’t say Thanks for Service
FREE Notebooking Pages
ABCTeach – Free Memorial Day printables
Home of Heroes – Medal of Honor resources
Raising Our Kids – Memorial Day coloring pages
Homeschool Helper Online – Memorial Day resources
The Homeschool Mom – Memorial Lesson Plans
Homeschool Creations – Memorial Day Printables
Memorial Day Preschool Cutting Practice from 3 Boys and a Dog
How to Make a DIY Patriotic T-Shirt from Crafty Mama in ME
10 Cool Family Tents for Camping from FrogMom
F is for Flag Handwriting Letter Mazes from Simple Fun for Kids
Memorial Day Penmanship Worksheet from Schooling a Monkey
Memorial Day Word Search from Something 2 Offer
Learning With My Boys – Memorial Day unit study
Rolling Thunder by Kate Messner
Memorial Day (Rookie Read-About Holidays) by Jacqueline S. Cotton
Memorial Day (First Step Nonfiction ― American Holidays) by Robin Nelson
Let’s Celebrate Memorial Day by Barbara deRubertis
America’s White Table by Margot Theis Raven
The Wall by Eve Bunting
Memorial Day by Karen Latchana Kenney
The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans by Barbara E. Walsh
We Also Served: Amazing True Stories of Brave Military Animals by Erin McGill

Take a moment in between your summer celebrations to remember the fallen.

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We visited Normandy in 2016.

I want my children to understand Memorial Day. I don’t want them to grow up thinking it’s just a day off school or work, for barbecues and pools and parties.

I want them to understand the importance of all the men and women who died for our freedoms, that we too often take for granted.

I want them to appreciate all of America’s Allies and how the world can work together for peace. But sometimes, we come together in conflict.

And we must remember.

We visited Utah Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery, Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc.

We first visited Utah Beach Museum and monuments.

It was one of the few sunny days of our trip. It was chilly but lovely.

The beach is beautiful now, but holds so much sad history.

It’s hard to imagine all the lives lost on this beach.

We went to the Memorial Day service at the Normandy American Cemetery.

It was very emotional.

Normandy American Cemetery hosted its annual Memorial Day Ceremony on Sunday, May 29, 2016, at 10.30 am.

We got to stand right up at the railing!

SEE MY VIDEO.

Program:

Master of Ceremonies	René Huard, AOMDA
Superintendent	Daniel L. Neese
Deputy Superintendent	Michael Coonce
The Marseillaise and the Star Spangled Banner
Welcoming Remarks	Daniel Neese
Opening Remarks	René Huard
Opening Prayers	Father Xavier Signargout, Diocese of Bayeaux and Lisieux Capt. Gary P. Weeden, Command Chaplain of U.S. European Command Rabbi Meyer Malka, Jewish Community of Caen
Addresses	Sara Harriger, U.S. Consul for Western France Patrick Thomines, Mayor of Coleville-sur-Mer Laurent Fiscus, Prefect of Calvados Department Lt. Gen. William B. Garrett, III, Deputy Commander of U.S. European Command
Closing Prayer	Father Xavier Signargout, Diocese of Bayeaux and Lisieux
Laying of Wreaths
Taps-Raising of the Colors
Retiring of the Colors
Participation of Troops	5th Signal Command Color Guard, U.S. Army Europe Unit Garrison of Cherbourg, France French Military Band of the Artillery of Rennes, France

9,387 Americans are buried at Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy, France.

The Memorial faces the United States at its nearest point to the cemetery – between Eastport and Lubec, Maine.

The 22-foot bronze statue entitled The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves.

The reflecting pool and chapel:

The beaches from the orientation table:

beaches-from-normandy-american-cemetery-orientation-table

We got to watch an interview with WWII Veteran Curtis Phillips.

My kids got to shake his hand and thank him for his service.

This is something they will always remember!

We remember the fallen.

After the memorial service, we toured the Omaha Beach Museum and monuments.

There’s a good video in the museum and lots of static displays.

It really helped the kids (and I) understand the Normandy WWII battles.

The Omaha Beach has a monument in the sand: Les Braves.

An airplane did flybys around Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach for Memorial weekend.

I had a canvas made of this image.

In the afternoon, we hiked around Pointe du Hoc.

I never learned about this in school!

Pointe du Hoc is a promontory with a 100 ft (30 m) cliff overlooking the English Channel on the coast of Normandy in northern France. During World War II it was the highest point between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east. The German army fortified the area with concrete casemates and gun pits. On D-Day (6 June 1944) the United States Army Ranger Assault Group assaulted and captured Pointe du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.