VA Chief Urges New Life For Memorial Day

SPRING HILL - Thomas G. Bowman holds a lofty title in Washington, D.C., but on Monday his remarks came from a son's perspective.
He got his invitation to the Memorial Day ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park as retired Marine Col. Bowman, now Chief of Staff of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
And certainly his experience as a career military officer gave weight to his words as he addressed a crowd of about 75.
But he opened his comments by announcing his intention to veer from the official script.
"I don't want to bring a message from Washington," he said.
Before Bowman took the podium, the crowd was treated to the type of pageantry taking place in ceremonies across the nation. A junior ROTC drill team from Central High School dressed in smart uniforms wowed the audience by flinging rifles and marching in lockstep. The American flag was hoisted high above Spring Hill while onlookers softly sang the national anthem.
But was anyone in attendance without at least some small tie to the military?
Was this anything new for the crowd?
That was the heart of Bowman's message, which sought to breathe new life into the observance of Memorial Day.
More people will pass through the doors of Home Depot or Wal-Mart today than will show up for an hour to honor veterans, Bowman observed.
Even after World War II, honoring veterans was just the natural thing to do. But there was a shift in the American psyche following the Vietnam War. It wasn't that Americans didn't want to celebrate veterans, they just didn't know how, Bowman said.
"We've lost our way," he said.
Bowman predicted Memorial Day would regain its status in the coming years as new veterans come home from the war in Iraq. But on that journey, the last generation of veterans, World War II especially, are passing away at a rate of up to 1,400 a day.
Preserving their stories and contributions is vital, Bowman said, and to do that he recommended the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project.
To illustrate his point, Bowman related how his father, a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attacks, always kept a set of old pictures by his side. Just before he died, he finally explained to his grown children the significance of those photos and how his time in the service impacted the rest of his life.
Revitalizing Memorial Day "has to start with family," Bowman said. "It's not a public pronouncement."
At the close of the ceremony, former Army Air Corps flight engineer George Peschen seemed pleased with the speech.
Asked what Memorial Day meant to him, Peschen, 83, took a minute to think.
"We're free," he said. "This country is still a wonderful place to be."