It is with a bit of shame that I recall a lack of reflection on Memorial Day regarding the American soldiers who put their lives at risk every day in Iraq and Afghanistan. This story from a Boston University professor who lost a son in Iraq brought me back to reality. Even if we have no idea why we are engaged in all of these overseas wars, we should remember our fellow citizens who paid with their lives.
5 thoughts on “Belated Memorial Day reflection”
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I’m with you- Hate the war not the soldier…
Your post was appropriately timed in that it was the 66th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
I respect and am thankful for all the men and women who have served and sacrificed. But it is the WWII veteran for whom I am most grateful. To me they literally saved the world from tyranny. I remember the stories and the names of the guys who never got to get old and always thank the few remaining vets I know every time I see them.
Werner,
You should be as grateful to the guy who dies in an overturned truck in Iraq as they guy who died storming the beaches of Normandy. Both did what their country asked of them and died for it. That’s all that matters. Soldiers don’t get to choose their wars, and that’s what makes their sacrifice all the more impressive. Everything else is an issue for us to take up with our politicians. How do you think it makes people feel who lost sons in Iraq to hear somebody say they more appreciate the sacrifice of World War II soldiers? You should thank every vet.
Thanks for linking us to this thoughtful piece by Andrew Bacevich. He has been working hard these past three years to make up for the “meaning deficit” in his son’s death. While I agree with Jonathan that we can’t condition our gratitude to an individual soldier on the behavior of the political and military leadership who send them into conflict, anyone as intelligent and thoughtful as Col. Bacevich is bound to struggle with the question of “what was it for?” He has written extensively and spoken very widely on the role of American military power, and this does go some way to enlarge the significance of his son’s sacrifice.
One of my friends was in Vietnam, and he said at the time that he wouldn’t send his son to the Persian Gulf, but then he wouldn’t have wanted him sent to Germany either. But someone has to do it. I’d say he’s very anti-war. For memorial day he’s got a gigantic flag in the front window of his store. God bless the soldiers, all of them, every one.