Carlos Varon pays respect to war fallen soldiers while he places flags at graves at Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, May 25, 2013. The annual "Flags-In" ceremony is held ahead of Memorial Day to honor the nation's fallen members of the military. Flags will be placed at more than 220,000 graves. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
Fallen Heroes, Never Forgotten -- Ralph Kinney Bennett, The American
Toward a deeper gratitude for our freedom, with a clean pride in a country that has spilled so much of its blood for others.
When I was a kid we called it Decoration Day and, in a practice observed since 1868, it always came on May 30.
Early on that morning or a day or two before it, in the soft twilight of a spring evening, folks would walk through the local cemeteries with baskets of flowers or small American flags to decorate the graves of soldiers, sailors, and airmen.
In my little crossroads village of Rector, Pennsylvania, a simple rectangular war memorial stood flanked by juniper bushes on a little triangle of grass beside the macadam road. It had been built from water-smoothed stones hauled out of nearby Linn Run Creek. The stone framed a glass-covered board on which appeared the names of all the men from the surrounding hills and farms who had served in the two world wars.
Read more ....
Commentaries, Opinions, And Editorials
The War for the Arab World -- Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy
Hizbollah's fight in Syria could destroy both -- The National editorial
Danger of civil war looms for Lebanon -- Gulf News
Saudi Arabia - Iran's big rival in the Persian Gulf -- Deutsche Welle
Rich Nation, Poor People: Saudi Arabia -- Lynsey Addario, Time
Federalism would mean death of Iraqi nationalism — but so what? -- Fanar Haddad, Special to Gulf News
The Region: Iran’s election -- Barry Rubin, Jerusalem Post
College Grads Are Jobless In China's "High-Growth" Economy -- Gordon G. Chang, Forbes
China Has Drones. Now What? When Beijing Will—and Won't—Use Its UAVs -- Andrew Erickson and Austin Strange, Foreign Affairs
On the Edge in Kashmir -- Vanessa Dougnac, Real Clear World/World Cruch
Why Are People in Malawi So Hungry? -- Karen Swallow Prior, The Atlantic
Cold War? Russia seeks to replace U.S. -- Aaron Klein, WND
In Sweden, Riots Put an Identity in Question -- Andrew Higgins, New York Times
Until our leaders admit the true nature of Islamic extremism, we will never defeat it -- Melanie Phillips, Daily Mail
