Thoughts on Memorial Day

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”

― Dwight D. Eisenhower

For the Fallen on Memorial Day

So many names etched in stone. So many lives sacrificed in our country’s wars. It’s difficult to not feel a great sadness for what each of their families must have felt. And at the same time gratitude for their actions that has produced a debt that never can be repaid. At best, I can remember them. On Memorial Day, and each time I walk through the Shrine at the Pennsylvania Military Museum.

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

Martin Luther King, jr.

Remembering

It’s easy to lose the meaning of Memorial Day in a weekend full of recreation, family, and an escape from the tedium of daily life. The vehicles of war that dot the landscape of the Pennsylvania Military Museum remind me that real people fought and died in conflicts from the American Revolution through to the long fights in Afghanistan.

All that is left in the short term is the silence in homes, farms, and apartments where someone did not return home. Memorial Day officially began after the American Civil War to honor and mourn the soldiers who died in service of their country. The holiday has expanded to include all wars, conflicts, and battles of which there are many. Part of me honoring these men and women is taking some time to understand our history.

The numbers are staggering. And surprising. Until now I had never looked carefully at the military losses.

Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.

George Washington

History

I like to read about the history of our country and how it has come into existence, grown, prospered, and helped transform the world. Solemn holidays like Memorial Day can fall prey to a prescribed way to celebrate with a carefully crafted script to wipe away any stumble, folly, or failure of the country that has spent the blood of its people.

When I came across the quote by George Washington I was reminded of President Dwight Eisenhower’s admonishment to watch out for the military industrial complex. And with it those who use our love for country to manipulate us to their own ends and agenda. The only safeguard is to do the work to find the truth. Only a sliver will be found on television, the newspaper, or in social media. The truth will be buried in the books and texts hidden in libraries and databases across the country.

I’m always left wondering who is the true patriot — the one waving the flag? Or the one reading the book?

I can’t say and I don’t know. But on Memorial Day I want to take time to remember, honor, and give thanks to the men and women to which I owe so much.

And I have faith that the vast majority of kind and generous Americans will do the same.