Sunday, May 30, 2010

Observing Memorial Day...

05/30/2010

I was excited yesterday morning at the prospect of this being a three-day weekend, and stated that fact on my Facebook page.  A little later, as I did my daily treadmill routine, and as I was watching a documentary on The History Channel about a battle in World War II on the South Pacific island of Tarawa in November of 1943, I was struck with what this weekend is all about; it was a sobering moment.  The commentator added at its conclusion 4690 Japanese soldiers and Korean laborers and 978 American Marines died as a result of this battle, one battle on an atoll in the South Pacific the size of Central Park in New York City. The series is entitled “World War II in HD” or, in other words, all the horrors of war in digitally enhanced, brilliant color. 

A visit to any National Cemetery has always been an emotional rollercoaster for me, even as a kid.  I have been to Arlington many times in my sixty-six years, the last being to attend a funeral, which cannot help but evoke all kinds of emotion.

In February 1992 I was in San Diego for an educators’ conference.  While there, for what ever reason, I took a ride one day and stumbled on the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.  As I rode through it and viewed what seemed to be mile after mile of rows and rows of memorial crosses, I was overcome with emotion and broke down in tears.  When I returned to my hotel I jotted this down in my journal:

Standing over fallen warriors
In lines so long and straight
Countless numbers side by side
White sentinels ever present
Engraved with nothing more
Than names and dates

Facing duty with stone coldness
Weathering the years
Graying with time
Speaking silently to passersby
Wetness covers a mournful eye

So many young lives stilled
To endless rest with peace
Never to see the light again
As eternity drifts by
Young men, young women, too!

Dying in wars they did not begin
And had no chance to end
So that others might find freedom
Or some fleeting noble dream

There must be a reason
Why young people die in war
Why sentries must stand watch
In rows for evermore
But never in a thousand years
Can one death be justified
And laid to rest
In a military cemetery
Full of Granite Guards.

Memorial Day, first called Decoration Day, was first celebrated in honor of the fallen of the Civil War. I have to wonder over time how many of the earth’s brave young people have died in wars.  Dare I say many millions?  Tens of millions?  It causes me to wonder when we will ever learn.  The President talks of a “new world order,” a “global governance.” Is that the answer, or is it an Orwellian concept that will just bring a new chaos?

Whatever the future holds is another story for another day.  This day and tomorrow, however, I honor those who serve, have served and those whose service ended with the ultimate sacrifice.

And that is all I have to say about that…