Friday, May 26, 2006

In Memorial

This Monday is Memorial Day. In all seriousness, this is something we should pause and think about.

My father is buried in a veterans cemetery, having served in World War II. I have friends' dads who also served in this war and Korea. I know of friends or relatives who have served in just about any American war you could name, from the Spanish-American War to Korea.

My generation? Our great moment was Grenada. So we tend not to understand some things, things that were understood by the men and women buried in Arlington, or Jefferson Barracks, or near some beach in France.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks to The Cup for returning our attention to the real purpose of Memorial Day, an item conspicuously absent from our local news. Readers of Saturday's Post-Dispatch cover story might think that the ultimate sacrifice made by some soldiers was nothing compared to choosing between RibAmerica or the Shakespeare festival. They would also have to dig to the bottom of the calendar section to find the one-line blub on the actual memorial service at Jefferson Barracks. (It's Monday at 10 am, and yes, it's all going in the letter.)

I know that many Cup drinkers also watch Letterman, and so may have seen Monster Garage's Jesse James last week, promoting a TV special he shot in Iraq. If you missed it, he seemed at a loss for words to describe the conditions there and the woeful morale of the troops, before settling on "awful" and "miserable." I found myself reflecting on my own position-- I oppose the war but I support our troops-- and it made me realize what a hollow meaningless sentiment that is. I mean it sincerely, but I have never done a damn thing to provide or show any real support for our troops.

But the same could be said of so many of us. Many Americans are opposed to the Iraq invasion and do not want to temper that opposition. Others who support the cause-- the administration itself comes to mind-- downplay or censor the horror of it, fearing it will strengthen their opposition.

And both sides are right. But while we fight with each other, there are thousands of soldiers who are fighting for all of us. They are not much more than kids in most cases, who at best, wanted genuinely to protect and serve their country, and who at worst, wanted a little money for college someday. For this, they are suffering, they get wounded, and many of them die.

Memorial Day is a day to remember that war kills people. By the thousands. Let us remember them today.

And tomorrow, may we help those whom we can: http://www.uso.org

12:38 AM
Joey P said...

Very thoughtful response post. Thank you.

10:17 AM

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