Dearest members, friends, and family,
I am honored, as a veteran and a CWA Vice President, to share my experience as we all prepare for Memorial Day.
As I contemplate the gravity of the day, I am reminded of friends, brothers, and sisters who did not make it back. When we deployed (for me, this was the first Gulf War) we all went in with false bravado. We kept our morale up but knew the underlying reality — that we were going into a situation we might not come back from. We put it aside because this was what we signed up for. We knew the danger. We also knew that we were with people we trained with, served with. We were brothers and sisters. We still are.
For me, this holiday is a personal day of reflection. I will take the time to see those who did not return, looking into my memory and bringing them forth. Then I will spend a little time searching out what the Kuwaiti people gained by their sacrifices. In doing so, if only for a brief moment, they all return to life. They are with me again. I get the chance to thank them for their sacrifice and, through me, show them what they did. And enjoy being with them for their day.
As you celebrate Memorial Day, enjoy it to its best COVID-Safe-Practice fullest. And please remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that people of the world could have a chance at the freedoms we Americans enjoy.
In solidarity,
Micheal Peterson
E-4 Specialist, US Army Veteran
CWA Agency Vice President for New Mexico Department of Health