How can you thank a military person who has given their life
defending the freedom of others? Simply put, we can’t; they aren’t
physically with us anymore. But their families often are.
How can you thank a military person who has given their life defending the freedom of others? Simply put, we can’t; they aren’t physically with us anymore. But their families often are.
On Memorial Day we can all pay our respects in a number of ways. If we have a family member who has died in military service, we can participate in Memorial Day Parades. If not, we can sit at the sidelines, proudly waving the American flag.
If we know someone who has died in a war, be it World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War or more recently the conflicts in the Middle East, we can honor their memory by gathering with friends and sharing stories of a life lived. Or if we know a current member of the military, living locally but spending this holiday away from their family, we can extend an invitation to share a barbecue.
My parents were of the World War II generation. My father served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot. Though my parents survived the war, many of their friends did not. One friend was captured by the Germans and physically survived a grueling march in which many died. His mental capacity was never the same after the war.
As a child, I heard many war stories. These discussions always included those who had not survived battle. My dad lost his whole flight crew when they were assigned to a flight with a different pilot. The plane crashed and some of his closest friends perished. And while his life went on, he tried to make sure those lost were not forgotten.
The same held true for my father-in-law. An infantryman who served in Italy during World War II, he met each year with members of his battalion. Their gatherings included talk of what was new in their lives and war stories, and a special time to honor those who died during the war. He came back from these meetings both refreshed and filled with reflection.
Thankfully, my generation was too young to fight in the Vietnam War but we all knew young men who died there – older brothers, cousins, neighbors and friends who went to a faraway country and came home in a box. In junior high I was privileged to meet and write to three soldiers during their tours of duty in Vietnam. They all came home safely, but sadly, they all knew some who did not return, whose names are on The Wall in Washington, D.C.
That’s another way we honor our war dead. Statues depicting acts of bravery, bronze plaques set in stone and even a black stretch of granite slicing through the ground, filled with names of those whose lives were snatched from them, known formally as the Vietnam War Memorial, nicknamed “The Wall.”
Then there are the graveyards, filled with crosses or headstones, individual memorials with names, dates of birth and death and the all important dash in between. These brave young men and women died for a freedom we all too often take for granted.
Like many in my generation, the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001 was a wake-up call. I’d grown up without any world wars. Vietnam was on the news most nights, but seemed far and distant, something other people dealt with. But that changed on Sept. 11. Suddenly America and Americans were vulnerable. The freedom to choose the life I want to live seems a lot more precious.
And that freedom comes at a very high cost. Thanks to the brave military men and women willing to fight to keep our country free of tyrannical dictatorship, thanks to troops willing to put their lives on the line in foreign countries in order to keep dictators from taking over surrounding countries, thanks to those willing to fight and free oppressed people, we can still make our own choices.
Memorial Day offers us a chance to reflect and remember lives gone by. Let’s give a silent salute to those who served and died so their children and our children can live in a world where freedom is treasured, yet won at an immeasurably high cost.
