While Thanksgiving is about appreciation for what you got, Memorial Day is so much deeper. It's appreciation for those who died to give you what you got. ~Doug Koktavy
When I think of Memorial Day and what it means to me, I think of how blessed I am to live in this country, where freedom still rings, even though at times we may take some of our freedoms for granted. I think of the fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price so that we might continue to live free. I also think of the families, friends, and loved ones of the fallen — the unsung heroes struggling to survive in the face of unspeakable loss. I cannot imagine the depth of their pain. I don’t know how to thank them for their sacrifice except to say that I am deeply grateful, and that I promise to remember them, holding each and every one of them in gentle thought and prayer.
They fell, but o'er their glorious grave / Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save. ~ Francis Marion CrawfordNearly four million men and women have served in the U.S. military over the last fifteen years, and more than half of them are married with children.
Originally designated as a day “to cherish tenderly the memory of our heroic dead,”Memorial Day is held on the last Monday of May each year. The holiday offers us a great opportunity to recognize and honor the sacrifice of these dedicated service members and their families.
Resources for Service Members and Their Families, http://j.mp/1X8an4F « Grief Healing
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When I think of Memorial Dayand what it means to me, I think of how blessed I am to live in this country, where freedom still rings, even though at times we may abuse some of the freedoms we have. I think of the fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price so that we might continue to live free. I also think of the families, friends, and loved ones of the fallen — the unsung heroes struggling to survive in the face of unspeakable loss. Read on here >>>
For information on helping returning soldiers — especially the National Guard and Reservists — reintegrate within their family, the workplace, and the community, see Honoring Soldiers When They Come Home.
Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below. If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.
As we gather with family and friends to celebrate Independence Day, I hope we will remember the tens of thousands of service members deployed throughout the world, working and fighting to protect our freedom and preserve our American way of life. One tangible way to remember ~ and to convey our gratitude ~ is to participate in Operation Gratitude, a movement founded by Carolyn Blashek in 2003. Her mission: "to lift morale and put smiles on faces by sending care packages to individual Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed overseas. Operation Gratitude care packages contain food, hygiene products, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation, all wrapped with good wishes of love and support. Through Collection Drives, Letter Writing Campaigns and Donations of funds for shipping expenses, Operation Gratitude provides civilians anywhere in America a way to express their respect and appreciation to the men and women of the U.S. Military in an active, hands-on manner."
Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below.
If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.
The following information comes to us from Joyce Boaz, Executive Director of Gift From Within, the international non-profit organization for survivors of trauma and victimization. With the trailer below, she introduces Striking a Chord, a new music documentary by Susan Cohn Rockefeller (to be released later this year), about US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the healing power of music:
From Gift from Within: What's the effect of four deployments on an American soldier? Susan Cohn Rockefeller's new documentary Striking a Chord is a window on that world, where troops maneuver between constant threat and crushing boredom. It's also a look at how music can provide some relief and a return, however brief, to normalcy. The backdrop to the story of Striking a Chord is the somber reality of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and its devastating and isolating effects. Striking a Chord reminds us that when our soldiers return home, they need special care and attention; PTSD is a disorder that many veterans are ashamed to speak about. Yet it's all too common, and, as the film shows, music can provide a way to begin the healing process.
Joyce also announces a new article from Gift From Within entitled Understanding Complex Trauma, Complex Reactions, and Treatment Approaches, by trauma expert Christine A. Courtois, PhD. Written primarily for beginning therapists and practitioners, the article includes an overview of what constitutes complex traumatization; common initial and long-term responses and symptoms; and their diagnostic conceptualization as complex PTSD or DESNOS (Disorder of Extreme Stress Not Otherwise Specified). An overview of treatment sequencing and stages is included, along with a bibliography by Christine Courtois.
Additionally, due to the overwhelming positive response to its first group of webcasts, Gift Form Within has decided to produce more of them, and sometime in July 2010 will present new educational webcasts featuring its Founder, Dr. Frank Ochberg. The programs will be of interest to trauma survivors, clergy, therapists and camp counselors.
They fell, but o'er their glorious grave Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.
~ Francis Marion Crawford
Nearly three million men and women have served in the U.S. military over the last fifteen years, and more than half of them are married with children.
Originally designated as a day “to cherish tenderly the memory of our heroic dead,”Memorial Day is held on the last Monday of May each year. The holiday offers us a great opportunity to recognize and honor the sacrifice of these dedicated service members and their families.
We can help our children and grandchildren understand why this holiday is a special one for our country. See, for example, Celebrating Memorial Day with Children.
In addition, as this holiday weekend approaches, we can make an effort to learn about and support some of the many organizations devoted to helping military families through the challenges they face:
USO – United Services Organization is a congressionaly chartered, nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide morale, welfare and recreation-type services to service members and their families.
Soldiers’ Angels Founded by the mother of two American soldiers, this volunteer-led organization provides aid and comfort to veterans, the wounded, deployed service members and their families.
Bugles Across America was founded by a veteran to ensure that during a military burial service, every fallen hero will receive a live rendition of Taps, played by a live bugler .
TAPS, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is “the 24/7 tragedy assistance resource for ANYONE who has suffered the loss of a military loved one, regardless of the relationship to the deceased or the circumstance of the death . . . TAPS provides comfort and care through comprehensive services and programs including peer based emotional support, case work assistance, crisis intervention, and grief and trauma resources.”
American Widow Project is a non-profit organization “dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today and tomorrow, with an emphasis on healing through sharing stories, tears and laughter--Military Widow to Military Widow."
The National Military Family Association suggests a number of simple things we can do to help the military families living in our own communities. At the very least, we can
Participate in the National Moment of Remembrance which invites us to pause for one minute on Memorial Day, at 3:00 p.m. local time, to acknowledge the sacrifices of our fallen and their families.
Whenever we see a person in a military uniform, we can say, “Thank you for serving our country and keeping us safe.”
Your feedback is welcome! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question, or share a tip, a related article or a resource of your own in the Comments section below. If you’d like Grief Healing Blog updates delivered right to your inbox, you’re cordially invited to subscribe to our weekly Grief Healing Newsletter. Sign up here.
The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. ~ Douglas MacArthur
World War II was the last war fought in which the President asked Congress for a declaration of war. Nevertheless, United States armed forces have been engaged in combat operations ever since, and they are stationed all over the world. According to the Department of Defense, "Our military servicemembers and civilians operate in every time zone and in every climate. More than 450,000 employees are overseas, both afloat and ashore." Never before has our country been engaged in battle for so long a period of time, and never in our history has such a heavy burden been placed on our service members and their families, with no end in sight.
The American Widow Project is a non-profit organization “dedicated to the new generation of those who have lost the heroes of yesterday, today and tomorrow, with an emphasis on healing through sharing stories, tears and laughter – Military Widow to Military Widow.”
Built to house ideas, stories, and advice, the site offers a multitude of resources to help with the lifetime of struggles that come along with being a military widow – including a free DVD describing the stories of six military widows (available by request and at no cost), a newsletter, and other events.
In her usual direct and forthright manner, psychotherapist and guided imagery expert Belleruth Naparstek seriously questions the decision of the Department of Defense to introduce Positive Psychology to our active military in Iraq and Afghanistan, in hopes of reducing the incidence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In a recent Huffington Post article, she argues persuasively for more effective, less expensive approaches. “Positive psychology may be worthwhile for corporate team building and personal growth," she writes, "but does it have the mojo to counter the profound despair and disorientation that comes from the horrors of combat?” See More Troops, More Rotations, More PTSD: Will Positive Psychology Save Our Soldiers?
Through her work in the Public Affairs Office of TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and through her own experience as the sister of a fallen soldier, Ami Neiberger Miller is well qualified to offer practical suggestions for expressing sympathy and support to the families affected by the horrific shootings at Fort Hood last week: How to Support Families Grieving after Fort Hood Tragedy. See also Fort Hood Tragedy: How You Can Help Right Now
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