Memorial Day Reflections
Remembering and honoring those who have put their lives on the line to protect our nation.
May 2004
Dear Friends:
The sun is shining brightly, the flowers are in bloom and children everywhere are counting the days until summer break. It must be May! I hope that you and your loved ones will make an effort to spend some quality time together during the coming months.
In honor of the Memorial Day holiday that we're celebrating on the 31st day of May, I'd like to do something that I don't think I've ever done in this forum. If you'll be so kind as to indulge me, I'm writing this month's letter directly to and about members of the American military, both past, present and future. Those who are serving today are among the finest young men and women our country has produced and they deserve our appreciation, our support, and yes, our prayers too.
Memorial Day affords us an excellent opportunity as Americans to seek ways to honor those special people who represent us in the various branches of the military. This is not only right and proper, but it is the patriotic thing to do. And heaven knows, there has been precious little patriotism seen or heard in this country in recent days. After the horrific tragedies of September 11, 2001, there was a wonderful spirit of unity and oneness that pervaded the land. Do you remember the words "United We Stand," and "God Bless America," emblazoned on thousands of billboards and bumper stickers? Whatever happened to that sense of brotherhood, that evident love for God and adoration for our country that prevailed through those troubling days? I fear that era has largely been forgotten, especially in wake of the vitriolic and disturbing presidential campaign that has engulfed the nation.
Our forebears would not have believed the level of hostility that is showing up now in the media. Whether you support President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry, there should be a certain dignity and respect accorded the office of the Chief Executive and to our other governmental leaders. Instead, an atmosphere of hate has swept into the debate. Last month, a full-page advertisement in a Florida newspaper said the following about Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: "We should put this [expletive] up against a wall … and pull the trigger."1 I thought advocating the murder of a federal official was against the law, yet no charges have been brought. Billionaire George Soros helped fund a television commercial earlier this year comparing the President with Adolph Hitler.2 And the New Republic recently ran a cover story entitled, "The Case for Bush Hatred."3 Come on, America. We can do better than that.
Yes, it is time for us to celebrate the full meaning of Memorial Day. Put up American flags in front of your houses. Invite friends to backyard barbecues that feature patriotic themes. And welcome military men and women who are in your communities to join in the festivities. Let them know that we appreciate their willingness to put their lives on the line and make the sacrifices necessary to protect our wonderful nation.
Perhaps we should also take a moment to recall why we pause, collectively and individually, on the last Monday of May, to pay tribute to our fallen heroes. Is it merely the third and final day of a long weekend, or is there more here for all of us to contemplate? Let's review the history of this significant day.
Originally known as "Decoration Day," the holiday was established on May 5, 1868 by the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans. Envisioned as an opportunity for the nation to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead, General John Login declared May 30 as the official date of commemoration because by that time, flowers would be in bloom all across the country. Ceremonies were first held at Arlington National Cemetery with children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home placing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, all the while reciting prayers and singing hymns.4
History has a way of sanitizing even the most brutal of circumstances, but can you imagine the pain and sorrow that must have been represented on the green fields of Arlington that first Memorial Day morning? I close my eyes and I can see a little girl of just five or six, a yellow ribbon in her hair, placing a rose beside a granite marker of her father — a man she never knew. He fell at Shiloh, or Antietam, or Vicksburg. I also see a boy of maybe 10, adorned in his Sunday best, who is kneeling in the shadow of a towering oak tree. He is now old enough to read the markings on his dad's grave and mature enough to remember him, too. This is now the final resting place of his father who left with the other idealistic young men who marched off to fight in our nation's bloodiest war. Six hundred thousand of them never came back,5 and many of those who survived were horribly disfigured and disabled.
The prosperity we share today has been purchased with their blood, sweat and tears, and we cannot, we must not, forget the sacrifices in the Civil War and on a thousand other battlefields around the world. Perhaps we can draw new inspiration from the words of Abraham Lincoln, spoken in a Gettysburg ceremony where so many brave men had recently died. He said,
"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave us 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."
We pray that American military personnel currently deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world will be able to help bring about this "new birth of freedom" of which Lincoln spoke on behalf of those who are oppressed, exploited and imprisoned. We also pray that terrorism will never again be visited upon innocent people in our beloved country.
If any of you have a loved one or friend serving in the Armed forces, I hope you might consider forwarding him or her a copy of my "Open Letter to the American Military." It is available online (see the link at the beginning of this letter), or simply call us at (800) A-FAMILY for a printed copy.
Rest assured that the staff here at Focus on the Family remains committed to standing beside you in this vital calling. We have invested a great deal of time and energy in defending the family and in promoting the traditional, biblical roles of masculinity and femininity. Whether you're married or single, or the parent of sons or daughters, or both, we want to help make your family as strong as possible. Thanks to those of you who, through your prayers and financial support, enable us to pursue that goal. We appreciate you more than words can say. God's blessings to you all — and may God continue to bless America.
Sincerely,
James C. Dobson, Ph.D.
Founder and Chairman
And now, I welcome you to read along with me as I write a heartfelt letter directly to our women and men in uniform, who are serving in troubled places around the world.
*(Note: Referrals to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)