by Wesley Harris
Memorial Day is not about picnics, barbecue, or a trip to the beach. It’s not even about veterans or those currently in military service.
There are other days to honor them.
Memorial Day is about the ones who didn’t come home.
Like the 122 Louisiana Tech students who died in World War II.
In 1952, Louisiana Tech built a new gymnasium. Since then, thousands of students, concert goers, and basketball fans have visited the gym to attend class or a concert or to watch a Bulldog or Lady Techster game.
Only a handful ever knew why it was named Memorial Gymnasium.
It wasn’t named in memory of a famous coach or to honor a rich donor.
It was built at the height of the Korean War when memories of loved ones lost in a previous war were still raw.
The students who attended Tech during World War II insisted it be named in memory of the 122.
Their names appear in bronze on a massive plaque inside the gym. On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, many of them were eating in the Toliver Dining Hall when they received word of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Many of them immediately left their seats, packed their belongings, and headed for their hometowns to enlist for military service.
They answered the call to respond before there was a call.
To protect their country, friends, and families.
Of them, 122 never came home.
Remember them this Memorial Day and the others like them.
Remember the 122.
