Memorial Day: Honoring Those Who Have Lost Their Lives in Service to Our Nation
In the U.S.A., Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance of those who died in service to their country. The holiday was officially proclaimed in 1868 to honor Union and Confederate soldiers who loss their lives in the Civil War.
The latest historical research has the Civil War death toll at 850,000. This number has surpassed all the other wars the U.S.A. has fought in combined. The population was estimated to be approximately 31 million (not counting Native Americans or Blacks).
This translates roughly to one out of ten white males of service age (ten-years-old to mid-forties) died as a result of the Civil War with the younger males incurring the biggest loss of life. [History.com]
Click here to access the U.S. Census Memorial Day Infographic for more information and the complete infographic.
The important takeaway from this graphic is that all other wars, skirmishes, conflicts, and battles that the US has been involved with combined, none have taken the toll that the the war that took place on the U.S. soil—the Civil War—has. Period.
Civil War Death Toll: 850,000 deaths (latest research)
All Other US Military Involvements since 1870s until 2020: 707,081 deaths
Memorial Day is one of three official US Holidays to honor those who serve or who have served in the Armed Forces. To help keep them in order, those three holidays are:
- Memorial Day, a federal holiday, is observed the last Monday in May, honors those who have lost their lives in action in service to our nation.
- Veterans Day, a federal holiday, that is observed every year on November 11th to honor all those who have served in the Armed Forces.
- Armed Forces Day is a celebration day that honors all active and former personnel across the six branches of the United States military. It is celebrated on the third Saturday of every May. This year’s was on May 21, 2022.
As any of you know, the head and founder of Chanticleer Book Reviews, Kiffer Brown is a self-described military brat. Her father, brother, nephews, and cousins have served in the military. Recognizing and honoring the service of those in the Armed Forces is a longstanding tradition for her and her family.
National Moment of Remembrance
On Memorial Day, remember that there is a National Moment of Remembrance. To honor the moment, pause for one minute at 3 p.m. at your local time, and remember those who have died in service to this nation.
Second Lieutenant Billy Wayne Flynn was killed in action, Vietnam, January 23, 1967. He was 24 years old. Billy Wayne gave to me a book of poetry from his studies at West Point before he left for Viet Nam. He was my cousin. It was my first book of poetry and has his notes. I was in fourth grade. I still have it and treasure it. – Kiffer
We’ve been waiting for a long time to do something more to recognize those who served.
The Military and Front Line Book Awards
Every year we receive several non-fiction books that deal with serving in the military or some other frontline capacity in service to our nation. This year the number and quality of submissions was great enough that we are excited to announce the new division that recognizes work focusing on those in Military or Front Line Service.
The new Division honors the following Non-Fiction Narratives:
- Military and Armed Forces Service Narratives
- Medical Stories focused on Nurses, Doctors, Health Care Workers, and other Essential Workers
- Stories of Community Service Workers such as Firefighters and Police
- CARE, Peace Corps, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, and other service organizations
- Work in Agencies that serve their Community and Government
- Families of those who serve in these Community Roles
Interesting to Note and Why We Honor Our Military and Front Line Heroes:
To put the Covid Pandemic (2020 to Current Day – 26 months) into perspective: the USA Covid Fatalities are more than 1 million (1,004,726 as per John Hopkins University & Medicine (May 28, 2022). Additionally, the USA has the highest fatality rate per capita (accounting for population) from Covid than any other first world country on the planet.
The USA loss more people in 26 months to Covid than in all military involvements since the 1870s. And with those losses, the death toll includes first-line responders: nurses, doctors, health workers, caretakers, emergency responders, and health care workers.
The 1918 Flu Pandemic that spread worldwide in 1918 – 1919 took more than 675,000 lives in the U.S.A. So many physicians and nurses were called into military service for World War I that able-bodied persons were asked to take medical training to offer aid in fighting the epidemic.
The Military and Front Line Awards will be a Division for the 2023 CIBAs. Get your work ready now, and the deadline to submit will likely be in the late fall. You can see the 2021 Finalists for the Military and Front Line Book Awards here.
Keep Telling Stories – They Are Needed!
We are always honored to be trusted with any book at Chanticleer. It is a pleasure to be able to highlight these stories in particular with their own division.
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.“–Mark Twain
“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” —Joseph Campbell
Got a Military OR Wartime Fiction Story?
The 2023 CIBAs are open.
If you don’t submit, you can’t win!
VIRTUAL and IN-Person – June 23 – 26, 2022! Register Today!
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Join us for our 10th annual conference and discover why!
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