The song “Sgt. MacKenzie” pays tribute to Charles Stuart MacKenzie, who died in 1917 in the trenches during World War I. His great-grandson, Joseph Kilna MacKenzie, wrote this lament while grieving his own wife’s death and remembering his ancestor’s brave last stand against the bayonet-wielding enemy. Though Joseph MacKenzie was a Scot, his song about a dead soldier has universal appeal—it was, for instance, featured in the Vietnam War movie “We Were Soldiers”—with two lines that are especially appropriate for our American Memorial Day:
Once a year say a prayer for me Close your eyes and remember meThis year, Memorial Day falls on Monday, May 26. This is the day specifically set aside for honoring those Americans who died in service of their country while on active duty in our military. This is a day designed to bring all Americans together in gratitude for those who laid down their lives to preserve our liberties. This is the day when a simple act—"close your eyes and remember me”—requires but a few seconds out of our holiday schedule to give thanks for their sacrifice.
And if we wish to take on a bit more to honor these men and women? Here are three more things we can do that require little of us but serve as reminders of those who paid the ultimate price for our liberties.
