Editor's note: The following letter ran in these pages as an "Another View" submission in 2010. We are reprinting it because we feel it does indeed reflect "the true meaning of Memorial Day."

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To the Editor: Here is a letter my father wrote about Memorial Day and those who died serving this great country. My dad, George V. Hill, Sr., served and never forgot those many heroes. He died in 2007, just seven months after he wrote this. Here is his letter:


Today we celebrate Memorial Day, formerly known as Decoration Day. To my mind, this is not a day of celebration, but a day of solemn remembrances of those who made the supreme sacrifice in the name of freedom.


It seems to me that Memorial Day has lost much of it's meaning while we talk about department store shopping sprees, visits to the mall, and outdoor picnics, all of course fitting and proper for any Saturday afternoon day of fun, but not for Memorial Day.


Memorial Day is a day to hang out our flag, and to hear speeches honoring our brave soldiers from all wars, from Valley Forge to Gettysburg to D-Day and Corregidor, and to the present day conflict in the Middle East.


True Americans have always answered the call of duty, and as they say we fight for mom, the flag, and apple pie, in other words, for freedom and a way of life we all cherish and love.


I think of the brave airmen who flew the war torn skies over Europe in their Super Fortresses, risking all to keep America free, many of them never returning, some under crosses in far away lands.


If these and other brave men and women who fought could speak from their graves, they might say to us today: “Enjoy the day, but please remember us, after all, it truly is our day.”


-- George V. Hill, Sr., formerly of Hillsborough

Submitted by George Vreeland Hill, Beverly Hills, Calif.