In case you have forgotten, the true meaning of Memorial Day is not a three-day weekend or the start of summer season. It is more than just a time to open our houses at the shore, fire up backyard barbecues, go on picnics in our beautiful Queens parks, play softball and enjoy the warming weather.
Memorial Day is the time set aside to honor those who have died in the service of this country during wartime.
On Memorial Day our flag is to be flown at half-staff; the flag should first be hoisted to its peak for an instant and then lowered to the half-staff position. Additionally, on Memorial Day the flag is to be displayed at half-staff only until noon and then raised to the top of the staff.
As we attend the neighborhood parades in our borough this coming weekend culminating on Monday, May 28 with the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day parade - the largest in the nation - we will watch floats that will remind us about our Prisoners of War and our Missing in Action.
We will witness and applaud the older veterans, squeezed into their original uniforms - adorned with the medals and ribbons they earned while in service defending our land. Patriotic music and speeches from politicians and generals alike will fill our ears. We will feel our chests swell with pride at this once-a-year display of patriotism and remembrance.
Our real job this coming weekend is to remember our war dead - the men and women who never came home from the battle - keeping our democracy strong and freedom alive.
We solemnly ask you to take a moment now and read the names of the fallen from Queens in the current war against terrorism being waged in Afghanistan and Iraq and to say a prayer for every one of them - they died so that we may continue to live free.
Brian Ritzberg, Long Island City, Specialist, April 2, 2007
Justin R. Garcia, Elmhurst, Corporal, November 14, 2006
Denise A. Lannaman, Bayside, Sergeant, October 1, 2006
Julian A. Ramon, Flushing, Lance Corporal, July 20, 2006
Jose Gomez, Corona, Sergeant, April 28, 2006
Marlon A. Bustamante, Corona, Specialist, February 1, 2006
Regilio E. Nelom, Jamaica, Staff Sergeant, September 17, 2005
Hernando Rios, Woodside, Private 1st Class, August 8, 2005
James D. McNaughton, Middle Village, Staff Sergeant, August 2, 2005
Michael V. Postal, Glen Oaks, Lance Corporal, May 7, 2005
Azhar Ali, Flushing, Specialist, March 2, 2005
Wai Pyoe Lwin, Queens, Specialist, March 2, 2005
Francis C. Obaji, Queens Village, Private 1st Class, January 17, 2005
Jeffrey Lam, Oakland Gardens, Lance Corporal, November 8, 2004
James E. Prevete, Whitestone, Private 1st Class, October 10, 2004
Roger G. Ling, Douglaston, Specialist, February 19, 2004
Robert Marcus Rodriguez, Maspeth, Corporal, March 27, 2003
