By Allen Hamrick
Memorial Day is once again upon us, a day that we pause and remember the American fallen that we should give thanks for each day anyway. We pack a cooler and lift a cold drink to those in cemeteries that dot our countryside, soldiers who died during the wars as well as those who, after returning home, succumbed to the battle that raged within. No one can truly understand what our military men and women have went through unless you have personally experienced the pain, heard the shells and bullets or felt the fear of each one with your name possibly attached to it. There was no Hollywood in the trenches, no John Wayne to lead you into glory, no marching band – there is nothing easy about war, just men and women called upon by their country to fight a foe at the very possible cost of their own lives. Sometimes the only peace soldiers found was at the bottom of a grave with no fanfare and no one to mourn.
“I sat on a nearby bench where a soldier from WWII had found his final resting place. He was killed on the beaches of Iwo Jima after seeing some of the worst fighting and the death of many of his comrades. I mused about his life and wondered if he would think his life was really worth giving up if he could see America today. I thought, “Yeah, I’m sure he would say yes because we still have freedom, opportunity and many other things that liberty affords.” The lives sacrificed by so many are a burden we each must bear. They did it for their country and her people, and we must remember them and the ones that are left behind to suffer the pain of loss. Each man or woman would have loved to have had the opportunity to live full lives, but they checked in to cemeteries all over this land, in the oceans and the seas, and across foreign lands. They remained dedicated to the people, to their oath to defend at all costs the Constitution of the United States, and at all costs they did. Those who have never tasted war have no idea the lasting mental impact. The fact is that many soldiers in the field were scared, starved, sick, without ammunition and alone. They stood in the face of the enemy and met them toe to toe at the price of their life!
Since September 9th, 1776, when the Continental Congress officially renamed the thirteen colonies the United States of America, men have charged into a hail of fire to defeat an enemy bent on destroying our freedom and later, when women became part of the fighting force, they too have defended the freedoms we hold dear. There is no greater love than a man that lays down his life for a friend. Are you appreciative of the freedoms you have, the country you call home, the sacrifices that it took for you to have what you do? The cemeteries that used to be full of people paying their respects to friends and family who were cut down by war are not so overcrowded anymore. The stillness is deafening as the birds sing like it was just another day, but their song has a sense of peace about it. Let us never take the American way of life for granted nor forget the cost of our freedom.
