Memorial Day Poems, Sketchpads, and Rolling Thunder

by Daniel J Gerstle · 2010-05-30 07:30:00 UTC
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While driving through Washington, D.C. yesterday with an old friend who just returned from serving with the U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan, we came upon a low rumble, a growl from the earth, a ... traffic jam of motorcycles.

Operation Rolling Thunder (ORT), as I understand it, is a massive movement of combat veterans and friends, mostly those who fought in the Vietnam War, a wily mix of hawks and doves who ride together to remember fallen members of the Armed Forces and medics, as well as civilians who were caught in the crossfire during American wars and peacekeeping missions.

This weekend, ORT descended upon the National Mall, and so anyone's visit to the Vietnam, Korean, WWI, WWII, Lincoln, Jefferson, Iwo Jima, and any other monument will surely be remembered along with the sound of a Harley growl. Whichever Memorial Day jam you're in - barbecue over music, beach day traffic, or Operation Rolling Thunder, here are two more great ways to commemorate the day.

First, take a spin on the wind of Walt Whitman's fabulous free verse. While others might choose, "I dream I dream I dream," I'm going to go with "The Wound Dresser," which very intimately evokes the pain of war, that grisly trade-off service members make. "Arous'd and angry, I'd thought to beat the alarum, and urge relentless war, But soon my fingers fail'd me, my face droop'd and I resign'd myself, To sit by the wounded and soothe them, or silently watch the dead ..." Reality surreality, there's beauty in there, so read on.

And to top it off, take another unusual look into the heart of service members who live at war/peace through the work of Marine combat artist, Michael D. Fay, who took his sketch pad into the bivouac, the hooches, the trenches, the F.O.B.s (forward operating bases) and captured something entirely different than one would with a camera. Go here for a set of his work and a link to his site.

Image credit: Michael D Fay

Daniel J Gerstle is a journalist, human rights researcher, and humanitarian aid consultant. He is Editor and Chief Correspondent for HELO: The Crisis Story Magazine.
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