"Remember Me" - Memorial Day · 5:17pm May 25th, 2020
No country will ever fully live up to its ideals. Human weakness guarantees that even the greatest and noblest of nations will still have its demons.
This does not mean that we should abandon the struggle. Excellence may be achieved in pursuing perfection. Even when we fall short, there is grace in striving. A nation may not be made flawless, but it can be made better.
Yet no country can have the freedom to strive unless brave men and women pay the price of liberty. No country can grow and thrive without warriors to guarantee its survival.
They are the wardens who meet the wolf at the door, the shepherds who spill their own blood before allowing harm to come to the flock. They are the ones fight to spare their fellows the burden of war.
They are soldiers.
Sometimes their names are known to the masses. Sometimes, only to a few. Sometimes, only to God.
Sometimes, the cause is clear, and the country righteous. Sometimes, the soldiers are betrayed, by countries and causes unworthy of their sacrifice.
Sometimes, their commanders and comrades fight for justice, and are worthy of loyalty. Sometimes, their commanders and comrades fight with injustice, and disgrace those who keep their integrity.
Sometimes, warriors are honored.
Sometimes, warriors are forgotten.
But acclaim does not make one just. Derision does not tarnish a truly noble heart. The world may not honor the righteous, but the righteous do not need the honor of a tarnished world.
Known or unknown, famous or forgotten, those men and women lived with integrity when the world around them failed to.
Those noble dead, who laid down their lives in defense of the light in a world that was so dark, deserve to be remembered as heroes.
So remember them well. Remember them for what they strove to do.
Perhaps the world around them is not worthy of honor. But they are.
May all who laid down their lives in freedom’s cause rest in Eternal Peace.
“Remember Me”
I am the fallen soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine.
Remember me.
I am the one that held the line. Sometimes, I volunteered. Sometimes, I went because I was told to go.
But when the nation called—I answered.
In order to serve, I left behind the family, friends, and freedom that so many take for granted.
Over time, I used different weapons: a sword, a musket, a bayonet, a rifle, a machine gun.
Often, I marched into battle on foot. Other times, I rode to battle on horseback or in wagons; sometimes on trains; later in tanks or Jeeps or Humvees.
In early wars, my ships were made of wood and powered by the wind. Later they were made of steel and powered by diesel fuel or the atom. I even took to the air and mastered the sky in planes, helicopters, and jets. The machines of war evolved and changed with the times.
But remember that it was always me—the warrior—that had to fight our nation’s enemies.
I fought at Lexington and Concord as our nation was born.
I crossed the Delaware on Christmas Day in 1776.
In the Civil War, I fought with my brothers—and against my brothers—at Gettysburg and Shiloh and Bull Run. I learned that we must never again divide.
In World War l, I marched on the Marne and held the line at Belleau Wood. "The war to end all wars," they called it. I just called it "hell."
In World War ll, I fought everywhere: the beaches of Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, the hell of Guadalcanal. I stood against tyranny and kept darkness from consuming the world.
In Korea, I landed at Inchon and broke out of the Chosin Reservoir. They called it "the forgotten war"—but I never forgot.
In Vietnam, I fought in the Mekong Delta, at Khe Sanh and Hamburger Hill. Some say my country wavered. But I did not waver. Ever.
In the recent past, I have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Baghdad, Fallujah, and Ramadi. In Kunar, Helmand, and Kandahar.
As technology advanced, I used night vision goggles and global positioning systems and drones and lasers and thermal optics.
But it was still me, a human being, that did the work.
It was me that patrolled up the mountains or across the desert or through the streets. It was me that suffered in merciless heat and bitter cold. It was me that went out, night after night, to confront our nation’s enemies and confront evil face-to-face.
It was me.
Remember me. I was a warrior.
But also remember that I was not only a warrior. Remember also: that I was a son, a brother, a father. I was a daughter, a sister, a mother. I was a person, like you, a real person with hopes and dreams for the future.
I wanted to have children. I wanted to see my son score a touchdown or shoot the winning basket. I wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle. I wanted to kiss my wife again.
When I told her I would be with her until the end, I meant it. When I told my children I would always be there for them, I meant it.
But I gave all that away.
All of it.
On that distant battlefield, amongst the fear and the fire and the bullets. Or in the sky above enemy territory filled with flak. Or on the unforgiving sea, where we fought against the enemy and against the depths of the abyss. There, in those awful places, I held the line.
I did not waver and I did not hesitate. I, the soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine. I stood my ground and sacrificed my life—my future, my hopes, my dreams. I sacrificed everything—for you.
This Memorial Day, remember me—the fallen warrior. And remember me not for my sake, but for yours. Remember what I sacrificed so you can truly appreciate the incredible treasures you have:
Life. Liberty. The pursuit of happiness.
You have the joys of life, the joys that I gave up so that you can relish in them.
A cool wind in the air.
The gentle spring grass on your bare feet.
The warm summer sun on your face.
Family. Friends. And freedom.
Never forget where it all came from.
It came from sacrifice: The supreme sacrifice.
Live a life that honors us, the fallen heroes.
Remember us, and make every day… Memorial Day.
—Lieutenant Commander John “Jocko” Willink
United States Navy, SEAL Team 3 (Retired)
('-')7
Happy Memorial Day 2020
Stay safe, stay hydrated.
and a HUGE shout out to those brave individuals who have served our country both past, present, and future.
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Come and see this man who most assuredly lived, though he sleeps under grass and stone.
Come and see this man who most assuredly died, for he gave up assurance and safety.
Come and see this man, this honored man, for that which he fought for most assuredly lives.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
A beautiful poem. At least, I think it counts as poetry.
I'm never quite sure if I should say "happy" Memorial Day, given that it's a day to remember a rather dark subject matter.
But then again, I seem to recall that it isn't the only commonly celebrated holiday in America that's rooted in honoring a sacrifice, and those are themselves joyous occasions.
Arthur John Herman Ruhnke
Born: June 19, 1917, Fenton, Kossuth County, Iowa, United States Of America
Died: August 27, 1944, Departement du Finistère, Bretagne, France
Age: 27
Sergent, United States Military 116th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division "Stonewall Brigade"
Those men and women are worth remembering.
Not just on Memorial Day, but every day we live as free men.
Not every country has the freedom that we take for granted, freedom that was bought by blood and tears of noble soldiers.
Thank you for writing this.
I wish there was a way to save individual blog posts to our libraries. Happy post-Memorial Day antiquitarian!
Thank you so much for making this post my friend, it brought me to tears in a most wonderful way. God be with you.
5269049
Honor to the fallen. Rest in peace, Sergeant.
5269745 Yes. That is whom I based Sergent Aurther D. Wahl on in "Starting Over". Arthur Ruhnke was my Paternal Grandfather's brother & Dewall was my Paternal Grandmother's maiden name, so in a way, both sides of my dad's family are in the story.
Color Sergeant Hightower would like this post.
5271176
I approve this reference.