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For many Americans, Memorial Day has essentially been a day of vacation -- a day off work to enjoy a barbecue with friends and family.  For others, Memorial Day is a day of mourning. Many who take the oath of service will feel gut-wrenching grief as they remember their fallen brothers and sisters. Those who serve in the military and first-responder tribes become family. Imagine facing a day every year when you suddenly feel the collective weight of grieving the deaths of several people you love like family.  Our nation's military and first-responder communities carry a heavy burden of grief every single day of the year. They often compartmentalize their pain while they continue to engage in roles that serve and protect us. But Memorial Day can break through the strongest defenses, bringing a sharp increase not only of trauma memories but acute grief and, in some cases, a heavy burden of survivor guilt.  After losing nearly 600,000 Americans to COVID-19, many of us are in deep grief. Given this, is it appropriate to "celebrate" Memorial Day?  To celebrate something does not mean you have to be joyful about it. To "celebrate" means that you take time and space to acknowledge the human impact of a particular day or event.  This year, as a nation, we can make a different choice. We have an opportunity to join our warriors and first responders in their grief, as we grieve with them. To "celebrate" Memorial Day, we can take a proactive approach to supporting those who are grieving.  We can take the time and space to acknowledge the significance of our relationships with those we have lost. We can take the time to speak their names, to share stories about them, and to remember that grieving is about reconnecting, not about saying goodbye. We have an opportunity to grieve, together, those we have lost as one people, in a prolonged season of grief.  To those who grieve in the military community, we can say something like, "I will never forget the service and sacrifice of our fallen" or "I stand with you in grieving the loss of those who made the ultimate sacrifice."  To our first responders, we can say, "You protect us every day in ways we'll never even know, and we stand with you in grieving the loss of others like you who quietly, bravely serve and protect us."  This year, another group of warriors stepped up to serve us. Many of our health care workers put their lives on the line to treat those with a potentially deadly virus. To them, we can say, "You made sacrifices for us that we can't begin to understand. We grieve the loss of irreplaceable people like you who risked their lives to give us care."  It's not just what you say, but how you show up and what you do that really matter. Taking action to stand with those grieving on Memorial Day is critical. For example, asking the veterans in your life how you can honor the fallen together, and then doing this with them, actively helps reintegrate our warriors back into society.  Let's make sure that none who suffer are alone this Memorial Day. This year as a nation, let's join them in grief and in celebration.  In our gatherings this year, as the wave of grief crests and rolls through, let's also celebrate the opportunity to reunite. Grief and joy can be experienced at the same time. Those who fight for our freedoms take pleasure in seeing us celebrate these freedoms, as long as we do this while also paying respect in a sincere and authentic way to those who have fallen. The above article appeared on Military.com 29 May 2021 by Shauna Springer.

If you are interested!! As part of the 40th anniversary commemoration of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, each of the 58,281 names on The Wall will be read between November 7 – 10, 2022 in Washington, D.C.  (Learn more about "The Reading of the Names" go to the following link https://www.vvmf.org/ROTN)     If you are interesting in volunteering to read names during that time in Washington, D.C., you can now register for specific names or times to read this November.   Before signing up, you will need to do the following:   Confirm that you will be in-person in Washington, D.C. during that time A valid email address to sign-up with Go to the link below to search by a specific name or time to register. While you may register for a single specific name, each reading slot will include 30 names to read.  go to this link: https://www.vvmf.org/reading-of-the-names-2022/   Please note that the registration period will close on August 1st. After the registration is closed, we will work to confirm reading slots as quickly as possible. We appreciate your patience as we work through any conflicting requests.   This event relies heavily on volunteers like you to make sure that each of the 58,281 names are read and properly honored. We thank you in advance for your support of this special 40th anniversary commemoration.

 The South Carolina State Council has approved and made an official challenge coin to represent all VVA Veterans within the State of South Carolina.  State Council sent out notices to Chapter Members to contact their Chapter Presidents if they wish to purchase one or more coins at a cost of $10, If the coins are mailed there will be a shipping and handling charge. The Chapter Presidents will contact one of us State Council members as to the number of coins needed.  Charles Davies, tazzcd@aol.com, will be the contact person for Chapters 780 Charleston, 925 Myrtle Beach;  Jay Reynolds jayreynolds45@gmail.com,  will be the contact person for Chapters 303 Columbia, 1145 Aiken, 960 Manning, 828 Salkehatchie; Larry Miller miller.larry33@gmail.com,  will be the contact person for Chapters 523 Greenville, 644 Piedmont (Union), 1017 Walhalla, 1049 Spartanburg.  Should there be any questions contact one of the members listed in your area