For Memorial Day.

In the second of two posts marking today's Memorial Day holiday, here is an appropriate video that also happens to make me nostalgic for the days before 24-hour television. Many readers will remember that it used to be the norm for TV stations in the United States and elsewhere to end the broadcast day with a 'sign off' sequence that concluded with a recording of the national anthem accompanied by suitably patriotic imagery. I'm happy that many of the old sign-off sequences are preserved on YouTube, giving nostalgists like me an opportunity to relive a part of the past; at the same time, I can't help but regret that the juvenile night owls of our day will not have the experience of watching TV until the broadcast day ended with a patriotic send-off.

The sign-off sequence featured here is one that I never saw growing up (the one that I saw most often featured the Blue Angels flying over distinctively American landscapes) but I think it may be the best of the genre: the historical montage ending with the Moon landing is great, but I'm also very taken with the particularly elaborate arrangement of "The Star-Spangled Banner," complete with trumpets. On this Memorial Day, I offer this video as a token of my respect and appreciation for all members of the United States Armed Forces who have given their lives in the service of their country. AMDG.