Memorial Day 2019
An Epitaph for the American Dead - Yvor Winters
Who should dare to write their praise
Do so in the plainest praise
Few names last, where many lie;
Even names of battles die.
These will stand for many more:
Wake, Bataan, Corregidor,
Attu, and the Coral Sea,
Africa and Sicily;
Callahan, who ran his ship
To the cannon's very lip.
Men, devoid of name and hour,
With direction gathered power;
Stripped of selfhood, each must be
Our hostage to eternity.
* * *
Today we honor the fallen.
Those who died while serving our nation. As Lisa Respers France wrote five years ago, we need to remember the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Today is not for me and my fellow veterans who are still among the living. It is for those who died on active duty.
Not just on the battlefield, but any man or woman who died while serving on active duty. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. He served in World War I and earned the Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars for heroism. He would land on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and earn the Medal of Honor for his gallantry on that field of battle. Sadly he died of a heart attack weeks later. We honor him on this day. Not because of his extraordinary heroism, but because he died while serving.
Many people observe Memorial Day by barbecuing in their backyard, returning home from a long weekend and doing anything other than honoring our fallen. That is understandable. In the years after the end of the Vietnam War, the animosity shown to returning soldiers lessened. After the end of the First Gulf War, those who returned were honored and saluted. That still happens but in the opinion of this scribe, that affection for those who volunteered to serve has lessened.
I have written in this space in the past about the crew of Swan 38. They were part of the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (WRS). When I was stationed at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, my unit maintained the aircraft of the 54th. There were no aircraft lost during my 15 month tour of duty there. We were not at war during that time. I doubt that matters much to the families of the five men in my unit who died while I was there. How they died is unimportant. The fact is they died while serving.
We honor the 248 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division who died in the crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285 on December 12, 1985 at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada.
We honor the 34 sailors aboard the USS Liberty who were killed when it was "mistakenly" attacked by Israel's Defense Force on June 8, 1967.
We honor the six Marines who drowned on April 8, 1956 during training at Parris Island, South Carolina in the so-called Ribbon Creek incident.
We honor the seven airmen who died on January 17, 1966 when a B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker over the Mediterranean.
We honor the 23 members of the crew of the Coast Guard vessel Blackthorn who were killed when it collided with a tanker.
We honor all of the fallen, today and every day. RIP.
Who should dare to write their praise
Do so in the plainest praise
Few names last, where many lie;
Even names of battles die.
These will stand for many more:
Wake, Bataan, Corregidor,
Attu, and the Coral Sea,
Africa and Sicily;
Callahan, who ran his ship
To the cannon's very lip.
Men, devoid of name and hour,
With direction gathered power;
Stripped of selfhood, each must be
Our hostage to eternity.
* * *
Today we honor the fallen.
Those who died while serving our nation. As Lisa Respers France wrote five years ago, we need to remember the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Today is not for me and my fellow veterans who are still among the living. It is for those who died on active duty.
Not just on the battlefield, but any man or woman who died while serving on active duty. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. He served in World War I and earned the Distinguished Service Cross and two Silver Stars for heroism. He would land on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day and earn the Medal of Honor for his gallantry on that field of battle. Sadly he died of a heart attack weeks later. We honor him on this day. Not because of his extraordinary heroism, but because he died while serving.
Many people observe Memorial Day by barbecuing in their backyard, returning home from a long weekend and doing anything other than honoring our fallen. That is understandable. In the years after the end of the Vietnam War, the animosity shown to returning soldiers lessened. After the end of the First Gulf War, those who returned were honored and saluted. That still happens but in the opinion of this scribe, that affection for those who volunteered to serve has lessened.
I have written in this space in the past about the crew of Swan 38. They were part of the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (WRS). When I was stationed at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, my unit maintained the aircraft of the 54th. There were no aircraft lost during my 15 month tour of duty there. We were not at war during that time. I doubt that matters much to the families of the five men in my unit who died while I was there. How they died is unimportant. The fact is they died while serving.
We honor the 248 soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division who died in the crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285 on December 12, 1985 at Gander International Airport in Newfoundland, Canada.
We honor the 34 sailors aboard the USS Liberty who were killed when it was "mistakenly" attacked by Israel's Defense Force on June 8, 1967.
We honor the six Marines who drowned on April 8, 1956 during training at Parris Island, South Carolina in the so-called Ribbon Creek incident.
We honor the seven airmen who died on January 17, 1966 when a B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker over the Mediterranean.
We honor the 23 members of the crew of the Coast Guard vessel Blackthorn who were killed when it collided with a tanker.
We honor all of the fallen, today and every day. RIP.
posted by me at 2:59 PM
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