It feels particularly cruel that the year in which the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II is marked will see no public Memorial Day ceremony at the Chattanooga National Cemetery and no flags at each of the more than 50,000 graves in the nearly 121-acre expanse.
Oh, we know the lack of a ceremony is not the fault of the local cemetery director nor the choice not to place flags the decision of the local Scout executive. Those decisions were made well above their pay grade – out of an abundance of caution due to the COVID-19 pandemic – in Washington, D.C.
And we know individuals and families are welcome to visit the beautifully landscaped final resting place of their loved ones throughout this long weekend.
Like these decisions, all the decisions that have been made in this country to shutter schools, close down businesses and keep people at home during the pandemic have been made out of an abundance of caution.
It is the difference, experts tell us, between a national death toll from the virus nearing 100,000 and a number that could be nearer 1 million.