The fact that Memorial Day is held on a day that people can picnic does illustrate one (of many) reason (s) why I love this country: to paraphrase Patton and Pershing, the purpose of war "is to make some other dumb bastard die for his country." Implicit in that observation is that ideally, an American general is going to do everything in his power to get his soldiers home safely so they can enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Your point about collecting and displaying military memorabilia is well taken. I have no objection to civilians collecting military memorabilia. However, unless you are actually carrying a rifle in the field, a member of the 9th Airborne Accountants has no business wearing camouflage, let alone a civilian sporting medals or patches he has not earned.