What’s the right way to celebrate Memorial Day?

Only in recent history have people begun to understand the true meaning of Memorial Day. Once seen as a catch-all celebration of men and women in uniform, the rise of social media and internet resources has brought the real point to the surface. It can be said with some authority that these days, the average American knows that Memorial Day is a celebration in remembrance of our fallen service members.

With that said, it leaves Americans in a strange position: we know what Memorial Day is for, but how do you celebrate it?

A lot of this confusion has to do with the way death is viewed in American society. Can it be said that one “celebrates” a funeral? Certainly not, and it’s impossible to see the rows of flag-draped coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and think “celebration.”

I’ve seen a lot of posts on social media recently reacting to the “inappropriate” ways to celebrate. In the Navy, we celebrate, and there’s nothing inappropriate about it.

In the morning, a flag raises, then comes down to half-mast. If you’re onboard a ship or standing on-base, you salute. If you have friends who didn’t make it home, you might visit their graves and remember them with flowers or a flag.

Then you know what we do?

We go home, light the barbecue, crack open a beer, and drink to the brave. We drink to the 2,403 men and women that died at Pearl Harbor. We drink to the 1,732  sailors who died at Guadalcanal. We drink to the 188 Navy SEALs that have died since 1962. We drink to the hundred sailors that have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And then we drink to our friends still alive. It’s not disrespectful to be thankful, as we pay our respects to the fallen, for the freedoms we all enjoy on a daily basis. Many of the 1.3 million Americans that have died in combat did so for the man or woman next to them. On a day when we celebrate that sacrifice, it’s important to remember why they did it.

When you see a service member in uniform on Memorial Day, feel free to thank them for their service. When you enjoy a cold beer on this hot Monday in May, do so free of guilt.

If I might make one suggestion, let it be this: Leave a drink open and not drunk for the guys who didn’t make it back. Appreciate the flag they died for. Remember the fallen fondly, and cherish the freedoms that we have spilled so much blood for.

Til Valhalla, brothers, where the brave may live forever.

Celebrate the sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces with Navy Crow’s commemorative We Will Never Forget Coin. These limited-run coins are very popular among service members and make amazing gifts to veterans. It reminds us of what it means to serve, and that every day we enjoy being free Americans was at the expense of one of our troops.

Check it out here.