Memorial Day 2008

Several years ago I worked with a retired sailor whose tours of duty included time in Vietnam as well as other posts around the world. Back to work after a Memorial Day weekend, he was dismayed that during worship services that Sunday the pastor did little more than to mention Memorial Day in a pastoral prayer. The Navy man felt as though the pastor had somehow betrayed the fallen by failing to make the essence of Memorial Day the focus of the worship service. This man was not too open to the possibility that the pastor’s focus was true and proper in giving thanks to the Lord for our nation and her principles as well as for those who were willing to put themselves in harm’s way, to fight for those who could not – or would not – fight for themselves. For the Navy man, this was completely inadequate.

While I can appreciate the sentiment of the retired sailor who undoubtedly saw more action, more danger and certainly more heartbreak and heartache than I did during my relatively brief stint as a Marine, worship is reserved exclusively for the Lord God and Him alone. Those who have gone before us, those who have fallen in armed conflict throughout our nation’s history, can rightly have a special place in the heart of a grateful nation – as well they should – but they must never be considered a focus of worship on any level lest we come to believe that our salvation and that of the entire nation is dependent on the actions of any selfless man or woman. We must also be mindful, I think, that too much emphasis on dying for one’s country has the potential to romanticize war without fully appreciating that those we memorialize are those who died an unnatural death long before their potential as human beings could be fully realized or appreciated.

There is something else which must be taken into account when memorializing the fallen. While we who signed up to serve certainly knew that there is risk involved in putting on the uniform of the United States military, I think there were few who eagerly anticipated the day when the “ultimate sacrifice” might be required. I was already a husband and father when I enlisted. I did not sign up to become someone’s memory or a lifeless stone in Arlington VA, and I had no designs on dying in combat as the highest ideal of military service. I must also say that I did not eagerly await the day when I could possibly make someone else die for his own country as a means of victory for my own. I believed then, as I believe now, that it was simply time to take my turn to stand watch. Of course I had high ideals about what serving in such a capacity meant, but I honestly do not recall believing much more than that it was my turn to serve.

Assuming that all who have fallen believed as I did when they each signed up, does this somehow diminish the sacrifice that any made? There are countless stories of self-sacrifice and heroism that come from armed conflicts. Indeed, it is inscribed on the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington VA: “Uncommon valor was a common virtue”. It must be remembered that it is the duty of the commander to focus on the mission. Lacking any combat experiences, I will still suggest that in the heat of battle the focus and mission for the fighting soldier will soon enough become survival. It is perhaps the nature of humanity that we have something inherent within us that drives us to survive. We are also social creatures by nature, many with an instinct to protect. This sense of valor must surely be what produces a hero, one who acts with complete disregard for his or her own personal safety for the sake of others. Lest there be any doubt, there is no shortage of such men and women who have served, are serving, or will one day serve.

Let us be mindful this Memorial Day that we do not “celebrate” the premature death of young Americans who died well before their time. We must never fall into the trap of thanking the Lord that these men and women died in our stead. We should mourn their passing and offer undying support for those they left behind. These who continue to mourn and those who will mourn tomorrow are worthy of our focus of support and prayers. To be sure, these were, are and will be the ones who have quite literally given to the nation all that was dear to them.

This Memorial Day let us not glamorize war as the ultimate adventure. Let us instead memorialize those who served in their sense of duty and civic responsibility and were caught up in wars borne of man and his insatiable greed and/or lust for power (and no, this is not a cheap swipe at President Bush!). And let us never forget to honor those wives and husbands, mothers and fathers, and children who are left behind by offering to them our gratitude, our support, and our prayers. The fallen are safely now in the hands of the Almighty; the living are now, and still, in ours.