Maginnes: Memorial Day honors those who stood up for us  PGATOUR.com Contributor My generation is lucky. We are too young to have a real recollection of the Vietnam War. What we know of the Korean Conflict we learned from M*A*S*H. World War II is alive in our history books and in the eyes of our grandparents. We haven't felt the same sacrifices that generations before us felt. We scarcely feel the sacrifices some are making today.  Jerry Kelly met with U.S. Armed Forces personnel at the 2007 Military Appreciation Luncheon in January. (Steve Grayson/WireImage)
Today's soldiers are younger than most of us. Their parents are older. Those of us who were kids in the 1970s and teens in the '80s were witness to revolution without bloodshed. The Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union fell when we were at our most impressionable. Our patriotism was sparked not by victory in foreign war but by being young for the bicentennial. The generations that came before us fought and died in hopes that someday a generation would know peace and freedom the way that it was spelled out by our forefathers. We are that generation -- or, at least we were. To my knowledge, there is not a single active American PGA TOUR player who ever served in the military. However, that does not mean they are unpatriotic or take their liberty for granted. As an organization, the PGA TOUR contributes to the U.S. military in numerous ways. Individual tournaments honor our military, as well, with tickets and hospitality that caters directly to the men in uniform. PGA TOUR players like Phil Mickelson, Frank Lickliter II and Jerry Kelly -- to name a few -- make contributions of time and money as a show of appreciation for the sacrifice of the brave men and women who put themselves in harm's way. Last Thanksgiving, Frank and Jerry, along with Corey Pavin, Donnie Hammond and Howard Twitty visited our troops in Iraq. Some of the most compelling reading of the year on PGATOUR.com was Frank's account of those travels. From his words came respect and admiration for the men he encountered. That is what Memorial Day is all about. It is not about agreeing with one side of a debate. It is not political at all. It is about appreciation. It is about respect and understanding 225 years of history. It is about honoring those who stood up and fought, often times in the face of overwhelming odds. Over the last six years, Memorial Day has taken on a decidedly different tone for the people of my generation. We will forever remember where we were on September 11, 2001. Many of us were at golf tournaments that never got played. All of us were changed forever. Say what you will about the aftermath of that day. Choose your politics, your indignation and your blame. What we have learned from that day is that we are not infallible. More importantly, we have been taught that there is a generation of fighting men and women in this country who are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that it doesn't happen again. I wonder if every generation has been as astounded by that commitment as we are today. My old caddy, who recently passed away, did two tours of duty in Vietnam. Occasionally, he would tell a story about some aspect of life over there. He never spoke of the fighting. He never spoke of the danger. He honored the memory of those he served with on Memorial Day every year. If the greatest generation included people like U.S. Open champion Ken Venturi, this generation is the luckiest generation so far. Wouldn't it be nice if the next one was even luckier? Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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