Randy Smith
How do you celebrate Memorial Day? Most of us will either be at the lake, around the pool, or at a baseball game. We'll grill hamburgers and hot dogs, or eat tons of barbeque and baked beans. Some will drink too much beer or other alcoholic beverages, while others will simply eat themselves into oblivion. When General John Logan officially proclaimed "Decoration Day" on May 5th, 1868, it was to honor those who gave their lives in service to their country in the Civil War. In the present day, it's to honor servicemen and women who gave their lives for their country in every war and skirmish since that day.
Growing up as a youngster in Madison, Tennessee, Memorial Day always meant being at the ball park a good portion of the day, while spending the remainder of the daylight hours at a picnic; generally at my Aunt Garnet's house. Even though our family had a wonderful time together, playing badminton or croquet, there was always a remembrance of my Uncle David Smith, who died a hero in World War II.
I've written about Uncle David before. He threw himself on a live hand grenade, savings hundreds of lives while in France just after "D" Day. I learned so much about what Memorial Day really means from my family. Yes they celebrated, doing things that practically every American family does on this holiday, but they also made sure the younger members of the family always knew Uncle David's story and the tremendous sacrifice he made in defending his country. That's what Memorial Day is all about.
So as we begin Memorial Day weekend in 2016, enjoy the burgers and hotdogs, homemade ice cream, and swimming in the lake or your pools. Enjoy your boat rides and baseball games and other activities. But simply remember the men and women who gave their lives, so we could have a celebration like this one.
God Bless America and happy Memorial Day! .
---
Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.
He can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com