“Greatness Awaits You”

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18 hours ago

The Meaning of Memorial Day: "American Sacrifice"

I served in the Army 10th Special Forces. My sons, Shannon and Marlon joined the US Navy and were honorably discharged. Many of my family members have served in the US Armed Forces. I have 2 cousins who died in VietNam.

I have been in and around the military for the three decades. In fifty years of being in, and mostly around the military, I can tell you our military is truly one of the nation’s most noble professions, and the men and women who serve today are the greatest of their generation.

There are three All-American holidays in the United States:

1. The 4th of July
2. Veterans Day, and
3. This celebration on Memorial Day

As Americans we celebrate each of these All-American holidays to honor very different occasions that I would like to highlight here.

The 4th of July is to celebrate our American independence and our brave Founding Fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776.

Veterans Day, November 11th, began after World War I, originally called Armistice Day, it evolved to honor all Veterans. We currently have 21 million living veterans and every November 11th we honor them.

The most solemn of our national holidays is Memorial Day. On this day we honor those who are no longer with us, those who cannot attend this celebration, because every one who we honor gave their lives so that we may live free.

This is why on this date you do not thank Veterans for their service- for if they are alive; this holiday is not to honor them. It is a solemn day, a date to remember our greatest heroes- so that we never forget their sacrifice or those of their families.

We pause to remember their stories of valor, of heroics, and of great sacrifice…stories of citizens from all walks of life who wore the uniform of the American soldier. Their stories are too often painful, but still need to be told.

At a remembrance held at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868, with the wounds of the Civil War still fresh in our young nation, President James Garfield said that he found it difficult to utter the “right words” on this occasion. “If silence is ever golden, it must be here beside the graves of fifteen thousand men, whose death was a poem, the music of which can never be sung.” That day in 1868, originally called “Decoration Day,” eventually evolved into our current “Memorial Day”.

In the 241 years since our Revolutionary War first began at Lexington & Concord, the United States has had over 1.3 million servicemen and women killed in action. That number is hard to imagine. 1.3 million Americans have given their lives so the rest of us can live free.

In those 241 years, we have fought at least 22 major wars and conflicts:

1) The American Revolution,
2) The War of 1812,
3) The Mexican-American War,
4) The Indian Wars,
5) The Civil War – our bloodiest,
6) The Spanish-American War,
7) The Boxer Rebellion in China,
8) The Punitive Expedition to Mexico,
9) World War I –140,000 soldiers died,
10) World War II - 405,000 soldiers died,
11) The Cold War,
12) The Korean War– 37,000 soldiers died,
13) Dominican Republic,
14) Vietnam– 58,000 soldiers died and each one is listed on the Vietnam Veterans Wall in Washington D.C.,
15) Beirut,
16) Grenada,
17) Panama,
18) Operation Desert Storm,
19) Somalia,
20) Bosnia,
21) Afghanistan, and
22) Iraq.

Two of these wars are still raging, in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ten of these conflicts have been fought in my lifetime. In my parent’s lifetimes, America defeated the Nazi’s, the Japanese Imperialist Armies, and the global ideology against communism and oppression- the Cold War- which was essentially World War III--- fought on the periphery in places like Korea, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and Grenada.

We now face a global threat from Radical Islam, and have been fighting it since 1983 in places like Beirut, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Philippines, the World Trade Centers, the Pentagon and elsewhere.

This is essentially World War IV, an ideological struggle against Radical Islam. In order to defeat Radical Islam, brave soldiers need to risk their lives, and many of them have and, unfortunately, will continue to make the ultimate sacrifice.

I believe General MacArthur also said it best when speaking of those killed in action: “However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country is the noblest development of mankind.”

In the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and in Vietnam, many of those serving were drafted so the military could fill its ranks. They did not volunteer, but, after being drafted, they did their duty and went to war to fight for America, and many gave their lives.

After the Vietnam War, America eliminated the draft, so since 1973 every serviceman and woman is a volunteer. Every single casualty we have had since Vietnam has volunteered to go into the service to fight for our freedom. That is a remarkable fact and is yet another reason to believe in American exceptionalism. And the fact is that we have fought for fifteen years in the Middle East, with no end in sight, yet we continue to have brave young men and women raise their hands to take the oath, knowing they will likely be going to war, is remarkable. Simply remarkable.

We’ve talked about the 22 major campaigns and the 1.3 million Americans who have laid down their lives for our freedom and THOSE are who we honor here today on Memorial Day. But statistics and facts are cold, they do not tell the story of the sacrifice of these 1.3 million soldiers. Statistics and facts are not personal.

So let me say thank you to all our HEROES.

On this day, let all American Heroes know you think them and their love ones, families and friends for all the sacrifices they have made for our freedom.

God Bless,

Master Reitenbach
Michael Kissinger ... See MoreSee Less

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