Time to Say Goodbye

Memorial Day 2017 – The Last Full Measure . . .

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 

Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

Memorial Day, is at hand, that special day in May when many of us journey to the community cemetery for services. We gather to hear speeches and prayers commemorating our loved ones and friends who had served their country so faithfully. 

Winston Churchill once famously said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” when talking about the Royal Air Force fighting the German Luftwaffe in WWII. This could equally be said for all those now lying beneath the flickering flags. Special tribute should be paid, however, to a small, elite group of fallen heroes: those that died in combat. While millions of us have served in the military over the years, a tiny number – far less than one percent - of our comrades have made the ultimate sacrifice in combat, allowing the rest of us to carry on with our lives. 

This reality is even more stark when put into actual numbers. In the 20^th century, and so far in the 21^st, we have lost something over 600,000 men and women in combat. The vast bulk of the deaths occurred for the “good wars,” (if there is such a thing) WWI and WWII. Then there were the so called “bad wars” – or at best, dubious wars – like Vietnam and Korea, that make up most of the rest of the deaths. That leaves the unlabeled but questionable Iraq and Afghanistan, the longest wars in our country’s history - and still going – as well as our many “police actions” around the world making up the final several thousand souls. 

Think about that: soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines roughly equal to the population of Minneapolis and St Paul bore the burden for all the deaths in combat in all our modern wars.

"I was a part of the war in Vietnam,

I went as an eager curious young man,

And came back home, jaded and weary

For I learned more that one year

Than most will ever learn in a lifetime.

I saw reality, and it was ugly,

                                         I experienced truth, and it was bitter."                                        "To a College Class" Curtis D Bennett,  Vietnam Vet and Poet  

In light of there sacrifice, the easiest thing in the world for the rest of us to do is go to a cemetery once a year, say some prayers, sing some songs and lay flowers on the graves of loved ones. The more appropriate but much more difficult thing is to understand why those loved ones repose there in the first place. Our first and most sober duty then should be to remember that they lie there because our government decided that they should fight and die for their country. No, that’s not exactly right. More correctly stated, they are there because WE, the people, decided they should fight and die for us.

It won’t make their sacrifice and loss any less painful but when put that way perhaps we can assume some small share of the burden.

Countries have asked – demanded? – that their young people fight and die for thousands of years and there’s no reason to believe it will change any time soon. For their sake, then, and for the sake of future Memorial Days, remember to choose wisely when you send your sons and daughters off to war, be sure it is a cause for which YOU would die.

                                Twenty-four hours a day they walk the line  

                                 Living up to the reputation. 

                                Assuming the swagger, the hard line,                            

                                 Their casual indifference to death.                                                                                     “Young Men” Curtis D Bennett 

The photo of me was taken circa 1973 while on a C130 gunship mission in SEA. A couple years later - okay, over 40 yrs later - a photo was taken of my son, Eric, while he was crew chiefing an HH53 Pave Low Special Ops helicopter in Iraq in 2004. Mrs Dear Leader was taken by the similarity of the pose and, well, him and me so she had this composite picture made. We are in debt to you, dear.

Rest in peace, comrades, your watch has ended.

D Roger Pederson    

Retired Military Officer     

Vietnam, and various other "police actions" vet

                            “When a Father Leaves for War” Hunter J Fowler, Son of Iraq vet and poet

There’s a little boy standing by the fence with a flag in his hand 

 He’s sad and confused; he doesn’t understand.

 He watches his daddy turn and head up on the bus. 

He watches him go and doesn’t make a fuss. 

“Why does it have to be my daddy?” he thinks to himself. 

Then he thinks back to the pictures on the shelf 

Of his daddy dressed in a suit with white cap,

But he doesn’t know why daddy’s going to Iraq.