Memorial Day. Sadly, I never got to celebrate it for what it is as a kid - I only remember it as a day when mattresses were always on sale, and we got a day off from school.
Another thing I didn't know about: The White House Commission on Remembrance. I didn't notice anywhere on their site that says what year they were formed, but they seem to have been around for awhile now. This page on their site lists the number of people killed or wounded in action during international conflicts from the Revolutionary War through 9/11. Apparently there are a whole bunch more missing from the list, but it seems pretty comprehensive to me.
Maybe it's because I didn't really learn about it in school (that I remember, maybe I did...), but I don't really know what to do in class for Memorial Day. Just from that list alone, I could probably make up some sort of math lesson on statistics or graphing. Or a geography lesson (where on earth is Matsu and Quemoy?). Or a timeline project. But outside of that, I'm lacking creative ideas.
Maybe that's enough though. To just remember. To study past conflicts, if only for one day in the entire year, and to reflect on how we can make the future less conflicted.
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