(I wrote this on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2009, but it's still true.)
Today is one day after the Texas Memorial for the twelve Fort Hood soldiers gunned down at the Base. (One civilian also was killed.)
These dead, too, were killed in a war, the one that remains nameless.
I watched the memorial service through tears. Perhaps you did, too. When family members processed past these soldiers' photographs, they stopped at only one. Some touched their loved one's photo, some held on with both hands, some wept openly. Their faces weren't shown, but I felt our watching world intruded on what should have been their private moment.
Every November 11th, one word screams at me: pain. The pain endured by those who serve actively and how it changes their lives. Those who love them and pray for their safety and wait for their return live with pain, too. Sometimes that pain never leaves.
Each Veteran's Day reminds me of a handsome cousin I never knew who was killed in World War II. My aunt and uncle had four younger children, but that didn't cancel their grief at losing one. Years later her eyes would tear and she took on a misty expression whenever she mentioned his name or looked at his photograph.
I understand that better now
Two of our granddaughters have served in the Navy, one in Intelligence, still serving. The other served a stint in the Medical Corps with the Marines, with one tour in Kuwait and another near Baghdad. She came home with memories that still haunt her.
My husband and I are very proud of both of them--and we still pray every day that God will keep them safe. Our entire family breathed a collective sigh of relief and thanks each time either of our granddaughters was safely back on American soil.
The tragedy at Fort Hood reminds us all that being in the Armed Forces and stationed here in the States does not guarantee safety.
I think we all need Veteran's Day, this annual reminder that Freedom is not free
We need to remember again that preserving the freedoms we so casually take for granted carries an extremely high price tag.
One U.S. Marine Corps chaplain expressed it well:
"It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."
~Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, Sergeant, USMC
May we never forget that
And may we honor those who serve now, as well as those who have given of their lives in service to America
Next time you and I spot someone in uniform it will mean the world to that individual if we take time to shake their hand and say, "Thank you for your service. May God watch over you."
That may seem a small thing--and it is--but they need to know we honor them and their sacrifices for keeping America free.
None of us know what comes next. With the world as it is, let's pray every day for God's protection and preservation of this United States of America and for all those who serve you and me, at home and overseas.
God bless America and may God bless you!
Lenore
Recent Comments