We can’t say we’ve ever been terribly impressed with CNN anchor Brianna Keilar’s journalism.
But her Memorial Day thread is another story, and we cannot recommend it enough:
Until I started dating someone in the military I effectively ignored the actual reason for Memorial Day.
Now I’m married to a service member and the holiday settles over my house like the anniversary of the death of a loved one, which I think most civilians can connect w/. 1/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
Six years ago, I closed out a show on Memorial Day with a moment from the commemoration at Arlington Cemetery and these comments from General Martin Dempsey: 2/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
"Tomorrow, when you resume life's daily routines, take a moment to think of the families who will return home and leave their loved ones here in this sacred place, and what of next week and next month. What should we do then? Remember." 3/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
But I didn't. Not really. I thanked our viewers for joining us for the tribute on Memorial Day, then I unclipped my mic, walked off the set and went home to pack a bag for a trip. And I'm pretty sure I didn't give the true meaning of the day much more thought. 4/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
A year later in 2016, I spent part of Memorial Day in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery, where service members killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are buried, as my new boyfriend, an Army Special Forces officer, visited the graves of his dead friends. 5/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
As we walked, I saw a woman laying on her side on a blanket in front of a white headstone, her knees slightly bent, as if someone was spooning her. I imagined her with her husband like that when he was alive. She was shading herself from the midday sun with a large umbrella. 6/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
Several rows away, a group of guys stood circling another grave where they had set an unopened beer on the headstone — no doubt their buddy's — as they drank, talked, smiled. They wouldn't have been out of place at a backyard barbecue. 7/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
I felt embarrassed as I witnessed these moments. If I'm being honest, I felt shame. I normally spent Memorial Day unencumbered by what the holiday actually means and I felt like a voyeur, taking in these vignettes of remembrance and grief. 8/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
This year, with the war in Afghanistan finally coming to an end after almost 20 years, Memorial Day weekend is particularly somber for military families of post 9/11 combat veterans. 9/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
I spoke with more than 20 veteran and active duty service members, spouses, parents, siblings and children as they reflect on how this war changed their lives forever. You can read their words here: https://t.co/vUgDmTNP4c 10/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
Carol Collier, who lost her son, Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Yates, to suicide said:
"My son was proud to serve and loved every minute of his service…but I worry that we are unnecessarily stressing the same people over and over by repeated deployments.” 11/14— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
The burden of these few men and women — this is what's at the heart of the difference between how military-connected Americans experience Memorial Day and how most civilians will. 12/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
Seeing this holiday as a long weekend to usher in the summer with beer and brats on the grill isn't a problem. Many military families will do same thing.
But experiencing it only as that is a sign of just how disconnected most of the country is from their armed forces. 13/14— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
And if most Americans are disconnected, divested from the human cost of war, the price will be higher because of it, paid for by a small part of the population — and the rest of the country might not even notice. 14/14
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) May 31, 2021
This Memorial Day, take a moment to remember. Because we must never, ever forget.
Poignant thread https://t.co/kdHoR3u3Z1
— Morgan Ortagus (@MorganOrtagus) May 31, 2021
Read every word. https://t.co/jE5Ftt9kBJ
— Mark Davis (@MarkDavis) May 31, 2021
Please read this thread – and the attached article – from someone who became part of our military family. @brikeilarcnn words are powerful, emotional, and moving. https://t.co/DOB6qBRa8R
— Mark Hertling (@MarkHertling) May 31, 2021
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