Post Scripts: Great spirit and sacrifice

The ancient Athenians recognized that war was a fixture in the human experience, so they made special effort to prepare their people for what they might face to preserve their freedom in a continuing hostile world.

History tells us all Athenians took part annually in a ceremony of public burial of soldiers who died in defense of Athens. The bones of the dead were displayed for two days so everyone could see the price these soldiers had paid. These bones then were carried to the public burial site in coffins on 10 wagons, one for each Athenian tribe.

An eleventh wagon carried a symbolic empty coffin, their “tomb of the unknown soldier.”

While citizens grieved, a noted figure chosen for “his intellectual gifts and good reputation,” discharged the awesome responsibility of eulogizing the dead.

A Greek dignitary managed to record the funeral oration of Pericles in 431 BC. Pericles praises the solders who lost their lives. He describes their hard-fought achievements and sacrifices and forcefully encouraged the present generation to devote themselves equally to the good of the whole city. We should all hope our Memorial Day can help preserve, or reclaim, such civic reverence. I only wish I could be with my fellow members of Gallatin’s American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars for this Memorial Day. I know they will do a good job of “remembering.”

This year we have a new war. Politicians like to claim victory but in my heart I believe the conflict is far from over. This Memorial Day will honor a new class of dead and wounded.

They will join the honorees from all past wars up to and including Afghanistan and, now, Iraq – with trouble brewing in North Korea whose government has admitted having “weapons of mass destruction” and openly challenges us.

I have my own memories of war. I cannot forget, upon my arrival in New Guinea in 1944, my first dose of combat duty, watching American GI’s taken off trucks in body bags, or being close to a man who became, suddenly and quite unexpectedly, a casualty. On the other hand I treasure those memories, as painful as they are, because I want to be reminded again and again of the great spirit and sacrifice reflected when such incidents occurred. I am aware of the deep pain and longing experienced by those left behind. I am frequently reminded of President John F. Kennedy’s statement: “Today, as never before, responsibility is the greatest right of citizenship, and service is the greatest of freedom’s privileges.”

So I say to the young people who attend Memorial Day ceremonies May 30, do not be misled by those who say history is for the birds. Every veteran who lies in a cemetery , in Gallatin, Washington, D.C. or any other place, died for you, as well as us old geezers who managed to escape the rigors and danger of combat to the extent we could return to home and family.

It is clear to me in my twilight time that the blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has been the product of God-fearing, honorable men. Who else could have provided the heritage for which men would give their lives, their fortunes and sacred honor? My thoughts will be with you at the cemeteries this Memorial Day.