On Memorial Day

What a beautifully wonderful and awe-inspiring day to remember, thank, and honor the lives and ultimate sacrifice of those heroes who answered the call of service to our nation.

When pondering Memorial Day and its many virtues, I first look to President Lincoln and his thirteen score and ten words delivered at Gettysburg in 1863.  Although short on length, it's obviously quite long on substance.  I generally read it multiple times, reflecting on a different phrase or idea each time.

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Of course, we must always remember and respect the bravery and courage of the warriors dying for principles and ideas greater than themselves.  But how do we answer Lincoln's call for the living to dedicate themselves to the unfinished work so nobly advanced by the dead?  How do we ensure that the deaths of these patriots - who 'oh so selflessly served for us - are not in vain?  Do Lincoln's words stay in the context of the Civil War, or do they breathe relevance to the many conflicts and controversies of 2017?  How can and do we apply to our daily lives the striking inspiration drawn from these national treasures?  Awareness, gratitude, and support are essential, but are they enough?

This great day inspires selfless service that manifests itself in incalculable ways

Military duty is one excellent way to serve, but it is only one of many venues in which to answer Lincoln's call.  When we engage in activities that emphasize ideas and people beyond oneself, we ensure that our fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines did not - and do not - die in vain.  By dedicating oneself to a life and legacy of true freedom and individual liberty, with honest hard work as an active and humble servant and citizen, you honor the fallen.

Click here to read the article "Memorial Day: Don't Wait for Someone Else to Serve," written by veteran Marjorie Eastman and published in the USA Today.

The speechwriters for President Trump and Defense Secretary Mattis earned a bonus for their efforts over Memorial Day

Click here (Trump - 20 minutes) and here (Mattis - 3 minutes) to watch their speeches at Arlington National Cemetery. Click here to read the transcript of President Trump's speech.  Below are a few excerpts:

Mattis:  In a world awash with change, some things stand firm.  Some things are as Plato said, "good and true and beautiful."  The kid on the line who never had a chance to grow old will always be there to teach us that suffering has meaning if it is accepted out of love for others."

Trump:  "Today we also hold a special vigil for heroes whose story we cannot tell because their names are known to God alone -- the unknown soldiers.  We do not know where they came from, who they left behind, or what they hoped to be.  But we do know what they did.  They fought and they died in a great and noble act of loyalty and love to their families and to our country."

Trump:  "They died in wars so that we could live in peace.  Every time you see the sun rise over this blessed land, please know that your brave sons and daughters pushed away the night and delivered for us all, that great and glorious dawn."

** One final image comes from World War II, with loved ones offering one last kiss to their heroes embarking on a courageous journey towards and thru history, with some returning to share that history first-hand, but with far too many silently telling their stories to anyone who will listen, especially on sacred days such as Memorial Day.