Editorial

Gratitude On Memorial Day

To our fallen men and women in uniform... God bless you... and thank you

"Why is America lucky enough to have such men?" wonders an admiral on his aircraft carrier flag bridge during the Korean War in James Michener's The Bridges at Toko-ri. "They leave this tiny ship and fly against the enemy. Then they must seek the ship, lost somewhere on the sea. And when they find it, they have to land upon its pitching deck. Where did we get such men?"

The good admiral held flag rank at a time when women were not officially deployed in combat. As well as piloting planes, today both men and women command ships and lead ground troops at all levels of command. Aside from that one difference, from the War of Independence to Kosovo, In all of the wars in which Americans have shed their blood for freedom, soldiers have served without question. At Valley Forge they left bloody footprints in the snow. In the War of 1812, though the White House burned American soldiers stood fast against an enemy who sought to take back its one-time colony. Soldiers died of dreadful wounds and raging illness during the Civil War so that the American nation could stand. They faced fearsome diseases as well as enemy fire in strange lands during the Spanish-American War and made America a world power. In the First World War they served in muddy trenches; in World War II they raised the American flag around the world in the face of fearful odds. Foot soldiers on patrol in Korea froze in bitter winter winds. In Vietnam they fought against both weapons and ideas. Desert Storm once again brought them to a foreign land to aid an ally who had called on them for help. Whenever called, American citizen-soldiers have taken up arms to defend their homeland and the philosophy of representative democracy which governs through the will of the people.

"Where did we get such men?" They come from cities and small towns, farms and factories. They come from behind lathes and sewing machines, from behind desks and microscopes. They serve when called because they believe deeply in the ideals on which this nation was founded and which still prevail today. They serve because they know that they maintain America as a bastion of freedom for the world. We are lucky enough to have such men because they believe that it is their mission in life to keep the torch of liberty alight, whatever the cost.

Many soldiers, it its true, have never really known why they were in combat or what they would ultimately accomplish. Once again, though, we are lucky enough to have such men--and women--who believed in doing their duty, wherever it might lead them. They had a job to do and they did it. It's as simple as that.

This Memorial Day between the hot dogs and the shopping, the beaches and the parks, let us take a moment to remember and reflect on the soldiers in all branches of the Armed Forces who shed their blood and gave their lives so that we might enjoy a three-day weekend and a lifetime of freedom from fear of foreign domination. We offer our thanks to them all for making the United States the luckiest country on earth because they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and ask nothing in return.