Memories of Our Fallen Brave

Memories of Our Fallen Brave

The picture is too common — military personnel arrayed in their brightest and shiniest dress uniforms escorting a flag-draped casket. The military actions known as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom have produced too many of these unwelcome sights.

Like a bad dream, the scene repeats itself over and over again. At press time, the U.S. Department of Defense reported 1,809 U.S. military personnel who have died in the two ongoing actions. Thirty of that number listed Alabama as their home state.

By now, all of us know someone who is or has been in harm’s way. We know the name of someone wounded. Most know one who lost his life. Every time we see another flag-covered coffin, all the grief and pain of our personal stories comes flooding back.

We understand the words of Psalm 46, where the writer describes the solid ground becoming like shifting sand, of mountains dramatically swept into the sea. Death does that to one’s world.

Numbers provide little comfort. Yes, the current death toll for these conflicts is less than any other war. The Persian Gulf War saw 1,972 lives lost. The numbers do not compare to Vietnam at 56,237 or Korea with 54,246. Certainly they do not compare to World War II with its 407,828 lives lost, or the bloodiest of all American conflicts, the Civil War, when 529,332 died on both sides of the line.

My hope is that the number killed in action will not rise another digit, but that still will not remove the personal sense of pain and loss from those already touched by this war.

Yet the deaths of our fallen brave transcend personal loss. These deaths are felt by the community, by the nation.

Whether one paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of freedom in this land or in a distant land, in this decade or one long past, on Memorial Day the nation remembers and pays tribute to all its martyred patriots.

Even the existence of the day speaks of a grateful nation. As a whole, the people of the United States recognize the great sacrifice made in the service of freedom.

The nation honors this sacrifice by calling on all its citizens to remember the contributions to liberty made by our fallen brave.

Every individual story is different, yet they all teach common lessons about love of country, commitment to duty, faithfulness to task and service above self.

The stories inspire nobler actions from those left behind. The stories stimulate loftier dreams for what yet might be. Such stories are the wellspring of confidence in one another and in the future.

The Old Testament contains numerous stories of the Israelites building monuments or memorials for important events in their history.

Most of these were built at the command of God Himself. God wanted generations to come to remember how He acted on behalf of His people.

It is good for our nation to remember as well. What Americans enjoy today was purchased by the valor of men and women who died for their country. That lesson must not be forgotten.

Memorial Day can be good for grieving loved ones too.
Somehow the knowledge that a loved one is remembered is appreciated and is valued, as evidenced on Memorial Day, can help check the despondency and gloom that goes along with death.

Memorial Day is good for the nation, and it can be good for those closest to the fallen brave who are being remembered.

Participate in Memorial Day activities in your community, and at 3 p.m. May 30, be a part of the National Moment of Remembrance by observing a moment of silence in honor of our nation’s fallen brave.