Today, America remembers. Fathers, brothers, sons, daughters, sisters and mothers lost in war, friends and loved ones who live in our memories. They did their duty. They did what was asked of them. They served their country. Because we asked it of them, they sacrificed their lives.
What we asked of those men and women, now gone, was that they give their lives for a higher purpose—for a purpose so compelling and necessary that we had no choice but to ask of them such a sacrifice. That judgment we made as a people, but its sufficiency balances upon each of our hearts.
Life is precious, for the soldier and for us all. A precious few things are dearer than life itself, dearer than the lives of our loved ones. For those things, and only those things, must we ever ask men and women to die. Never for less. Never for anything less.
Today we remember those lost on battlefields from Normandy to Da Nang to Fallujah. Tomorrow, and in every day that passes, may we honor them in the sobriety of our judgments.
photo creditL ingridtaylor.flickr.com
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Two wars that are unnecessary are continuing right now. There is nothing in either of those places Iraq of Afghanistan that is worth the life of a single American soldier. We need to stop sending our children to die in places that are no real threat to us here.
Prentice, you almost always write very well & tho’tfully. This time you’ve outdone yourself! Without getting into current political issues, you focus on the REAL meaning of Memorial Day. That real meaning, I fear, often gets lost in the trips to parks, beaches or the country, the picnics and/or grilling of burgers & dogs, etc., that has become Memorial Day for so many Americans since they changed it from 30 May to the final Monday in May. And herein you present profound M.D. considerations.
You also caused this US Army vet to almost tear up at your words! Thanks, friend! The Lord bless & keep you & yours!