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By Chuck N. Baker  
 
Several veterans in Southern Nevada were recently asked about Memorial Day and what it means to them. Originally called Decoration Day, it is officially a day to remember those whose lives were lost in military service to the United States. But there is no one answer to the question. Jim McGeachy, who invested many years in the military, gave his answer. “As it does every year, the flag goes up in front of the house,” he said. He unknowingly spoke for many Americans. Citizens across the nation break out Old Glory on most patriotic holidays, and many residential blocks become a loving sea of red, white and blue. 
 
Steve Gibbs, a veteran of the Vietnam War, said, “Memorial Day is one thing, but I lost seven friends and I was injured in the same battle. I don’t worry about my medals. Because when I die, my friends don’t have them either.” 
 
Gene Amos, a veteran of the Korean War and commander of Chapter 711, Ex-American POW’s, said on each Memorial Day he is, “Glad to be alive. A lot of close friends didn’t make it.” 
 
World War I, at the time of its place in history, was initially called “The Great War.” When learning about that horrible time of our past, young children have been known to ask why it just wasn’t called World War I to begin with. Then educators and other adults explain to them that no one ever thought there could be another world experience to produce such carnage. Now, American children must study two world wars, plus the Korean War, plus the Vietnam War, plus the incursion into the Dominican Republic, plus several Middle East wars and conflicts of recent vintage. And those events are remembered with memorials on their respective anniversaries. 
 
It often appears that Americans are overly fascinated by anniversaries. Does it matter that former newsworthy events should be celebrated at various intervals? Perhaps the answer lies in what it is that is being remembered each time. There are no known veterans of WWI still living. But that war is especially stamped into the collective, if not the individual, American memory. Not only because of its horrific battles, and loss of life, but also because of its bearing on today’s modern international challenges. 
 
To help combat the fading memories of WWI, Congress created the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission in 2013. Individuals making up the 12-member commission were appointed by the president and by leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives. In addition, some appointees were named by directors of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National World War I Museum. All four living former presidents have agreed to serve the commission as honorary chairmen. 
 
The commission’s mission is to plan, develop, and execute programs, projects and activities to commemorate the Centennial of WWI. Over the next five years the commission intends to develop education programs through various media outlets that will awaken the history of WWI. Another goal is to organize activities, events, and symposia to commemorate American involvement in the Great War. The fact is, today few Americans can speak in detail or elaborate at all about that war, how it began and what it meant to our nation while it was being fought and afterward. 
 
Perhaps more so than the Korean War, World War I remains America’s forgotten war, even though more Americans gave their lives during that conflict than during Korea and Vietnam combined. WWI profoundly shaped the rest of what is known as the American Century, the 100-year period when the United States grew into a leading nation. 
 
Two other individuals from Southern Nevada were asked about Memorial Day. They responded with only their first names. “Ruth” said on Memorial Day she thinks about her two brothers who returned home safely from Vietnam. “Adam,” a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, said he thinks about “all my friends I have lost in the Middle East.” 
 
Betsy Anderson is a volunteer member of the commission and wrote about the war. She said her family was deeply touched by the life-changing maniacal blood letting of WWI. She added, “Every international challenge we face today has its roots in that war and its aftermath.” This includes the formation and missions of U.S. Marine Corps units and the use of machine guns, which were very modern weapons at the time. Also, the beginnings of aerial bombardment came from WWI, as well as advances in medicine to include the body and the mind. Totally unsanitary trench warfare produced disease and illness beyond comprehension, and medical personnel had to improvise. Europe and other parts of the world map changed forever through social, political, economic and technological upheaval caused by the menace of military weaponry. 
 
So Memorial Day has many different meanings for different people. 
 
Sit down and think about it. What does Memorial Day mean to you?