Posted on Tue, May. 20, 2008
A time to marvel
Memorial Day is coming up this weekend. This holiday is filled with memories for many of us. This is a special day to remember the sacrifices of people who have served in uniform and protected all of us. I imagine a lot of people in this area have someone in their family who wore a uniform during some part of our history. My family has a long line of citizen soldiers. When someone called for war, there was almost always a person in my family willing to raise their hand and march off. Some came home. Some didn't.
Memories around my home remind me of the great uncle killed in World War I, of my uncle who served in Nicaragua with the Marines between the World Wars, and of my uncles' and father's World War II service. Cousins have served in several of the services. I entered Army active duty in 1975. So Memorial Day makes me think of all of that.
A month ago, I was at the St. Luke UMC's monthly Operation Appreciation, where the church hosts 80 soldiers in basic training at Fort Benning for pizza and ice cream once each month. The soldiers really seem to enjoy the break. Being with them for a couple of hours is truly inspirational. Their courage to enlist during time of war is worth a few hours of my time each month. I had a chance to speak to them about the dangers, toils, and snares of military service (you can probably tell I like the song "Amazing Grace"). However, one of them asked me a simple question that evoked lots of memories: Why did I join the Army?
For me, I simply thought I was supposed to serve. No doubt this was fostered by my being one of those many children born of World War II veterans in the early 1950s. My parents' circle of friends made military service seem natural. I think this quietly encouraged me to serve in the military as something that people just did. I'm sure a number of events generally combine to cause people to join the military.
Regardless of the motivation for me, the men and women volunteering today deserve very special thanks and remembrance. I joined the Army when we were at peace. The men and women joining today know we are at war. They know that they face deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan soon after reaching a unit. They have volunteered to go in harm's way from the start of their service. That takes a special kind of courage.
So whether at a Memorial Day service or just walking around the city this next weekend, remember the service of those men and women today who have the courage to lay everything on the line for us. It doesn't matter whether you think the war in Iraq or anywhere else is smart or not. You should marvel at the guts of the men and women who are willing to place themselves between us and the people in the world who want to do us harm. That's pretty amazing stuff.
John M. House is a retired Army colonel who lives in Midland, Ga. His e-mail is housearmylife@aol.com.
