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No, I did not fight at the Alamo, at least not in Texas. I arrived a little too late and missed it by at least a few decades. I did, however, visit the Alamo, and I was quite glad there was no fighting going on there at that time. I was quite surprised at how small it is. I do remember the Alamo because I’ve read all about it and I’ve seen the movies. I remember Jim Bowie, William B. Travis, Davy Crocket, and John Wayne (oh, that was in a movie). I even remember Santa Anna.  As a boy, I played the role of many of those defenders in my own back yard in Alabama. The Texans won in my versions!

In the movies they all looked larger than life. The Alamo Mission looked much larger than it actually is, as I discovered when I toured it in person. Even though the mission site was not so large, the battle itself was enormous. The battle for Texas to win independence from Mexico in 1836 lasted 13 days. Yes, you are right, the Texans did not win that battle, but that would not be the last one.  The Texans and their allies were garrisoned at the Alamo Mission when Mexican forces, which outnumbered the defenders several times over, approached. The defenders held off the first-and-second waves of attackers, but the Mexican forces eventually proved to be too strong for them. They put up a courageous battle but were outnumbered and ultimately overpowered and defeated. Some ten-years later, in the Mexican-American War, a popular battle cry had arisen that encouraged and empowered the American soldiers. That cry was “Remember the Alamo!”

This Memorial Day weekend, may we not only remember the Alamo and those who died for Texas’ independence. May we also remember all the battles and wars and all who died to gain and keep our independence as a nation. We are more than simply one state that is free, or even a number of states that are free, we are the United States of America! May we remember all those who have died, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. May we remember those brave patriots who died for our initial freedom from England in the Revolutionary War. The courage and bravery to rise up in rebellion against their mother country was seen as an egregious act of treason by England.  Their resistance gave rise to a war that many believed couldn’t possibly be won by the ill trained and equipped colonists. According to some records 4,435 colonists died on the battlefields during the Revolution, but we won our independence.

Since the Revolutionary War, according to some figures and they vary, some 2,260 Americans died in the War of 1812; 13,283 died in the Mexican War (1846-1848); 620,000 (Union and Confederate) died in the Civil War (1861-1865); 2,446 died in the Spanish-American War (1898); 116,516 died in World War I (1914-1918); 405,399 died in World War II (1941-1945); 36,574 died in the Korean War (1950-1953); 58,220 died in the Vietnam War (1964-1973); and 383 died in the Persian Gulf War (1990-1991). During and since The War on Terror that began on September 11, 2001 many others have died.

Although we have picnics, cookouts, swim parties, and many other fun activities, Memorial Day is in fact a somber holiday. May we enjoy the holiday, but may we never forget those who gave so we can. May we not only “Remember the Alamo,” but all the other battles and wars as well and those who died in them.  Happy Memorial Day!