Memorial Day conjures up images of picnics, boating trips on the lake, rock ’n’ roll and funnel cakes at Riverfest. But there’s something important being buried under loud commercials for big savings, barbecue sauce and sunscreen.
“Memorial Day is one of those days where we look forward to a three-day weekend and not having to work,” says Emily Reeves, director of digital innovation and research at Stone Ward. “We look forward to the first weekend at the lake because that’s a kickoff for summer. And we look forward to the sales because there’s always a sale. While there may be flags out, we tend to forget why they’re really there for Memorial Day.”
Memorial Day started in 1868 and was called Decoration Day, a day to put flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. It evolved over the years, from a day to honor Civil War casualties to a day for all war dead. It only became an official federal holiday in 1971.
It’s a true meaning that Reeves, for one, can’t forget. Her brother and only sibling, Chief Petty Officer Robert James Reeves, a Navy SEAL with Team 6 who had joined the Navy at 19 years old, was killed Aug. 6, 2011, four days after his 32nd birthday. His helicopter was shot down by enemy fire in Afghanistan and of the 38 people on board the helicopter, 22 were SEALs.
Emily and Rob grew up in Shreveport. They were close in age, just 14 months apart, and the memorial video she put together for him is full of photos of a smiling boy fishing, goofing off with friends, wearing a Superman outfit.
“I could talk about my brother forever,” she says with a smile. “My brother Rob loved what he did. And I think that if he had a choice, that’s exactly how he would want to have gone, serving the country and being with his friends and the people he considered his brothers.”
The memory of people like Rob Reeves inspired two fellow Navy SEALs to start their own Memorial Day campaign. It began, Reeves explains, with two former SEALs in Dallas - Arkansas native Clint Bruce and Stephen Holley. They grew frustrated with a holiday ostensibly about fallen comrades but in fact one for picnics and retail sales events.
“It was like, nobody’s really, truly remembering what Memorial Day is for,” Reeves says, so Bruce put on his pack and went for a walk where he happened upon an older veteran who, obviously sensing the younger man’s struggle, asked whom he was carrying.
“It made him realize, ‘I’m carrying all the people I’ve lost,’” Reeves explains. “We need to really think about carrying all the people who are out there serving for us whether that be in the military, or domestically as police officers and firefighters.”
The event is a perfect fit for Reeves, who wanted to honor her brother’s sacrifice.She met Bruce last year, and he told her about Carry the Load. When Bruce called in January and asked her to help organize it, “I said yes without thinking twice, not thinking about the amount of work involved!”
Carry the Load started in West Point, N.Y., on April 30 and continues in five-mile increments down the Atlantic coast, then across - and through Arkansas - before finishing May 26-27 in Dallas with the Memorial March. It will be in Arkansas on May 20-23, entering at West Memphis and exiting at Texarkana. The Little Rock and North Little Rock segments will be 4 p.m. May 21-midnight May 22.
All are invited to participate for as long or as short a distance as they would like and registration in advance is encouraged but not required.
“All [registration] does is let them know there will be people on that route,” Reeves says. “You can show up without registering and still participate.”
According to Reeves, the entire 2,000-mile route will be covered, regardless.
“They have an RV or bus going the entire route so if they don’t have anybody who shows up or signs up for a particular route, the organizers will get out of the RV and walk that five miles. It is covered on foot in some way every inch of the route.”
Likewise, there are no registration fees, although people are encouraged to donate or to raise money, which will go to organizations that support families and children of people who have died serving in action.
Organizers have even mapped the route online so morale boosters who can’t or don’t walk can still participate from the sidelines. And Carry the Load seeks to honor not just the armed forces but “civilian” law enforcement officers and firefighters who regularly risk and give their lives, so Reeves hopes local firefighters and police officers will want to participate.
“They have friends and brothers and sisters in their communities they’ve lost that they can come out and remember and … honor.”
She’s planning to participate in the entire Little Rock and North Little Rock segment, as well as portions of the Hot Springs and Arkadelphia segments.
“I don’t know exactly how much I’ll be walking but I will be there. If my body can take it, I’ll keep walking,” she says, because, “To actually do something and to be active and show your support beyond just kind of a mental note ‘It’s Memorial Day,’ I think it gives people that time to remember how much people have gone through to make sure we’re safe.” The Arkansas leg of the memorial walk is May 20-23. For more information, visit carrytheload.org and click “Click here to learn more about the 2013 Carry the Load National Relay.”
High Profile, Pages 37 on 05/12/2013