Saturday marks the beginning of the Memorial Day weekend leading to what some people call “the official start of summer.”

Many of us will meet with family and friends for barbeques and picnics, some of us will go to the beach and others will hang around the house, taking it easy with their favorite beverage and soaking up the air conditioning.

Locally, many residents will go to the Vicksburg National Military Park and visit the memorials and monuments, watch re-enactors recall a bygone era, and take in Saturday night’s performance of the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra.

Personally, I’ll take it easy at home and probably watch the assortment of war and military movies and documentaries presented by Turner Classic Movies and The History Channel, or maybe watch some movies from my own collection of tapes and DVDs.

And I’ll think of my father and my uncles Shelby and Sammy, all World War II vets who are no longer with us.

Actually with dad, every day is Memorial Day. People who know me are familiar with the ring with the green stone and Army emblem I wear on my right hand. It is dedicated to his memory and his service.

My uncles both flew.

Shelby was in the Army Air Corps flying C-47 transports and took part in the Invasion of Normandy.

Sammy was a radioman-gunner on a Navy dive bomber flying anti-submarine patrols over the Gulf of Mexico from Corpus Christi, Texas.

Dad was a combat medic assigned to a combat engineer battalion that fought in Europe. Like many veterans, he never talked much about his experiences during combat; I had to do a lot of reading about war to learn what he went through. To this day, my bookshelves are crammed with books about D-Day and what was known as the “European Theater of Operations,” and two of my favorite mini-series are “Band of Brothers” and “The Pacific,” which get a lot of play. I especially enjoy listening to the conversations with the veterans at the close of each series as they recount their experiences.

And really, that’s what Memorial Day is all about. It was begun to remember the sacrifice of Union soldiers who died during the Civil War and decorate their graves, and later became a holiday to honor all who served in America’s wars.

Regardless of our feelings about war, politics or history, we should remember, recognize and respect those who wear (or wore) a uniform and fought for something they believed in or responded to a call to duty.

This weekend, sit down and talk with a vet or a soldier and get to know them. If a vet you know is no longer living, go by their grave and pay your respects.

I won’t be able to visit my father’s grave, which is in Baton Rouge, but he’ll be on my mind, and I’ll wish he were here.