Memorial Day

Yesterday I promised pictures of my progress on the baby doll quilt.

I must admit that I didn't do any sewing or quilting on that little quilt.  Instead, I got sidetracked by all the war stories that are on the History channel because today is Memorial Day.

Memorial Day, an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May, honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.

I usually don't watch all these war stories that appear on individual federal holidays.  My husband watches them every year.  But this year, as I was passing the t.v. I noticed that a veteran from that time was talking about his experience as a bomber pilot in England during world war II.

He mentioned his training, a few months, how many missions they had to fly before they retire - 30, and the fact that 1 out of every 2 pilots sent out on a mission would not return.  That is what caught my attention!

At the end of the program they mentioned statistics about pilots during the war. 100,000 pilots were commissioned in England. 50,000 of them died, either by being shot down or from wounds received. 

I was in shock! I had never heard that before. My husband is a war buff and he is always giving me statistics or details about the war, some pretty gruesome. He had never mentioned this.

Pretty depressing isn't it?  But that's what Memorial Day is about isn't it? Remembering the dead? Not barbecues, not parties!

So this is my little tribute to all who have served and died.

Thank you for listening,

As always I am here

Stitching and Talking . . .

Aveli