by James Carter, ©2021
(Dec. 21, 2021) — I still recall very well all the Christmases that my Dad was away fighting for our freedom in France, Belgium, Germany, Korea and Vietnam. I also recall very well the Christmases that I missed being with family when I was away fighting for our freedom in Vietnam and protecting our freedom in Germany. Patriotism and remembering our deployed troops on Christmas, our Fallen Heroes on Memorial Day, our Gold Star Families on Gold Star Mothers’ Day and our Veterans on Veterans Day have been on the wane in America for decades — a recent survey indicated that close to 80% of Americans don’t know what Memorial Day is really about.