Day-25 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
INKTIME on RINKTIME Observations and Random thoughts by Chris Madsen:
MEMORIAL DAY: As the Son of a man who served in two branches of the military–the Army and Air Force–my Dad ingrained in me a love of country and a genuine appreciation and respect for the call to duty and sacrifice every man, woman and canine who has served–is serving and will serve–unselfishly to this great Nation.
But what separates MEMORIAL DAY from VETERAN’S DAY and ARMED FORCES DAY is that according to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, “Memorial Day (the last Monday in May) is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered, Veterans Day (Nov. 11) is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military — in wartime or peacetime.”
So, on many fronts, I believe it would a disservice for me to write about the details of last night’s game between the Sharks and Kings or look ahead to tonight’s match-up of the Blackhawks and Red Wings , when commonly a writer, like myself, would use words like “battle”, “confrontation”, etc., when such words ring hollow and rendered meaningless when we attempt to fathom these numbers:
WW I: 116, 516 lives lost
WW II: 405, 399 lives lost
KOREA: 33,686 lives lost
VIETNAM: 58, 209 lives lost
IRAQ: 4, 404 lives lost to date
AFGHANISTAN: 1,086 lives lost to date
May God Bless them all…and May God Bless America:
