Our own poet laureate, Capt. George Harris has once again generously provided us with our Memorial Day Remembrance. George served in the military from the Korean War until the late 1990’s. He entered the Navy as a Seaman Recruit and rose to the rank of Captain over his 39 year career. Ask him about his experiences next time he is online.
Once again, many Americans will take time from their hectic pace to remember and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation. Some high ranking person, our president in many instances, will lay a wreath at that marble edifice in Arlington National Cemetery where an inscription declares:
HERE RESTS IN
HONORED GLORY
AN AMERICAN
SOLDIER
KNOWN BUT TO GOD
And somber words will be spoken in many places to veterans and their families across our Nation. It is a time of reflection, a time to recall that millions of young Americans have answered the Nation’s call to duty and more than 848,000 have laid down their life answering this call. It also is a time to remember those whose lives have been permanently altered by the acts of war. Over the last 237 years, more than 1,350,000 young men and women have suffered the wounds of war. And the price this Nation pays for their wounds carries on for decades. For the next five or six decades we will see these young men and women grow old but the scars of their injuries will remain; absent arms and legs, blinded eyes and mental illness with its own set of horrors will serve to remind us of the price of war.
I have often said that American must love war because we have been in so many. We even fought among ourselves in our great Civil War where we managed to kill nearly 600 of America’s finest every day for four long years.
This year, as Taps echoes across the land, and the “Flags In” ceremony is carried out for the thousands of graves at Arlington National Cemetery, let us take a moment to remember not just those who have paid the ultimate price but also those who answered the call to arms. Let us remember the millions of American families who have been affected by the wars we have fought and, finally, let us remember those who were are enemies. They also answered their nation’s call to arms, they also laid down their lives and their families also suffered the pains of war.
God bless the men and women of our Armed Forces and God bless the United States of America.
