Memorial Day is the sacred day in American history when we reflect upon and honor our war dead. It is a day dedicated to those who gave their lives for our country and for us.
If you are near a Federal cemetery, it is a moving experience to visit it and read the names on the white marble crosses and headstones and know they are men whose lives were given to us so that our lives might be lived in freedom.
When you get the chance go to Normandy in France — the 172 acre American cemetery with its 9,388 white marble crosses each with the name of an American soldier killed in combat — and stand on that holy ground and try to understand the magnitude of the sacrifice we asked of Americans to free Europe and remain a free people.
It is intimidating to be the beneficiary of such generosity of spirit. It is sacred. It is America. Are we worthy of this?
They were often young men who would not know the beauty of love, who would never marry, never graduate from college, never own a home, would not have children, and whose lives were violently taken at the fullness of their human potential so that we might reach ours.
This is the question of our times — have we earned the sacrifice of these magnificent lives? Have we?
I look at our country today, led by flawed, venal, corrupt men, a country that cannot figure out basic biology, a country whose great institutions have been weaponized for petty politics, a country whose men and women no longer seek to serve, a country with its lips wedded to the government teat, and a country with an inadequate military force necessary to meet the real world challenges of freedom worldwide — and I wonder.
Let’s strive in the days and years ahead to be worthy of and to earn the sacrifice of these good men. God bless America. God bless our war dead. Honor and respect.
