Current wars restore true meaning to Memorial Day

Not too long ago, the true meaning of Memorial Day was lost at the beach, the family pool, a barbecue or while bargain-hunting in the stores. But today - largely because the country is still fighting two wars - the military dead are more at the forefront of the American consciousness.

That was the solemn message for veterans attending a small Memorial Day ceremony Friday at the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University.

Fred Sganga, executive director of the facility, told the gathering of about 200 veterans and family members that wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had made Americans more aware about the men and women who fought in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Now, more than ever, "we honor the spirit of those who died in service . . . and celebrate their legacy," he said.

For William Beatty, 81, of Centereach, who served in the 40th Infantry Division in Korea, that message is a reminder that many Americans share the war experience, even those who don't actively serve. "I had two brothers in World War II," Beatty said. "And in my neighborhood in the Bronx, lots of guys went to war. Everybody knew somebody in the war. It was always around us."

Beatty, a tall man with deep blue eyes, choked back a tear as he remembered neighborhood friends who went to war and never returned. Today, once again, he said, families are struggling with the damage and destruction of war. "With our kids fighting today, people want to know about what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and also about what happened in wars of the past," he said.

Mike Geronimo, 87, a World War II Navy veteran who has lived at the Long Island veterans home for nearly 18 months, agreed. A lifelong resident of Throgs Neck in the Bronx, Geronimo sees the thirst for information in his granddaughter, who asks questions and reads often about World War II.

Geronimo, who served on the USS Stevenson in the North Atlantic, said for years he felt that young people and Americans who did not serve didn't understand. Or worse, they didn't care.

"What Freddy said is true," Geronimo said. "Sometimes, getting young people to understand about war is very, very hard. But it is changing."