It’s Memorial Day today, the unofficial start of Summer in the US, and this is the war memorial in Law Park, Briarcliff Manor.

History.com has an interesting piece on the history of memorial day including this quote:

Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades each year, often incorporating military personnel and members of veterans’ organizations. Some of the largest parades take place in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

Americans also observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries and memorials. Some people wear a red poppy in remembrance of those fallen in war—a tradition that began with a World War I poem. On a less somber note, many people take weekend trips or throw parties and barbecues on the holiday, perhaps because it unofficially marks the beginning of summer.

Memorial Day is more or less equivalent to Remembrance Day in the UK in that it remembers those who died in service. The US also has a second holiday: Veterans Day, which celebrates all who served (i.e. whether they died or not).

The memorial in Briarcliff commemorates the dead of World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. In my walks around I often find that the Korean War is missing. I wonder why?

Taken with a Sony RX-100 M3.