It is Memorial Day in these United States of America, which some days don't seem quite so united.  The day was first celebrated on 5 May, 1866 in Waterloo, New York, as Decoration Day, to honor those who fought in the Civil War. It was officially named Memorial Day in 1966, as a solemn day to remember those who have perished in battle in all wars.  Now in 2020, many people are reveling in the "reopening" of the country and not behaving as well as they should, but we must never forget.

I did some photography last year at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.  When I revisited some of those photographs, I realized that in the shot below, almost all of the people in the first four rows died in 1944, toward the end of the second world war. From New Mexico, with our relatively small population, so many died that year.

One of the most interesting things about looking at the marble stones is that many of these men were quite young, but others were 30 years or older when they felt compelled to enlist.  As you can see here, Pedro Gomez was born 29 April 1911, and died in the last half of 1944, making him 33 years old.

May we always remember.

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image@