Happy Memorial Day from Europe!

If you're Belgian Memorial Day was Sat, 5.24. If you're Dutch it's Sun, 5.25. We were privileged to have celebrated it twice.

I am discovering that much of the Netherlands and Belgium have not yet forgotten the sacrifice of the US on their behalf, and that it not just the generation of WW II but also their children and their children's children. Did you know that Henri-Chapelle American cemetery in the Netherlands has over 7,000 American graves? And do you know that many of those graves have been "adopted" by local Dutch? That means that, at the least, they place bouquets on the graves on Memorial Day. Often the care goes way beyond that token. Likewise, at Margraten American cemetery, with over 8,000 graves, the Belgians do the same.

Yesterday evening we were guests of the village of Chapelle at a Memorial Day show. We arrived at 8 PM while the show was underway. It turned out this was by design. Led to our seats in the front of the community center with the veterans in the lead, the audience of over 800 people appreciatively clapped in rhythm as the vets made their way down the center aisle. Even now it brings tears to my eyes.