drinkerthinker

At a Memorial Day barbeque:

Scottish guy^*: what is the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans' Day?

General murmuring indicating that no one has any idea.

American guy: I suppose I should know, being the only American here.

Other American guy and I indicate that we, too, are American.

British girl: I looked it up once because I was curious. I think it's that Memorial Day is for the World Wars and Veterans' Day is for all the wars.

Me (American girl): Nods in general agreement because I have nothing better to contribute.

Six hours later, I turn to Wikipedia:

The distinction is that Memorial Day honors the U.S. soldiers who died in the wars, while Veterans Day honors those who survived.

Well, duh.

^* I don't know for sure if he is Scottish, but he did use the word "lassie" in conversation. By that I am assigning him nationality.