Note: Picture and parts of the post taken from my Memorial Day tribute last year and the year before with the numbers of dead in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan changed. As of today the number of the fallen from the Iraq War stands at 4300 and the number in Afghanistan at 687. Last year, the numbers were 4081 for the Iraq War and 506 in Afghanistan. When will it all end? When will the bodies stop coming?
The picture moves me greatly. Some years ago, a video surfaced showing the deeply respectful manner in which the caskets were transported to and loaded upon the planes headed for Dover Air Force Base, but it soon disappeared due to directives from the Bush maladministration, for "security reasons" and "respect for the fallen and their families". I don't recall that names were visible anywhere, and I'd think that many families and friends of the fallen would have cherished the portrayal of the loving respect with which the brothers and sisters in arms treated the remains of their loved ones. But it was not to be.
President Obama lifted the ban on media coverage of the remains of the fallen arriving at Dover, so long as the families don't object, which is exactly how it should be. The families' desire for privacy must always be respected.
Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of those in all our wars who gave everything in the service of their country. We honor them for their courage and dedication to duty. We extend our sympathy to their families and friends, whether the loss is recent or from long times past. We stand with you. We mourn with you.
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. Micah 4:1-4
Lord God, Almighty and Everlasting Father, we pray for all those who have died in wars. We pray the they may rest in peace in the perpetual light of your love. We pray for your blessing upon the families and friends of all those who have died in service to their country. Console them for their aching loss. Bring them healing of body, mind, and spirit. Give them strength and courage to go forward, and Lord God, above all else, give them your peace that passes understanding to keep their minds and hearts.
Amen, Mimi.
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Brenda, yes. Amen.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mimi, I have many a friend on the "Wall". Your tribute is both fitting and gracious.
ReplyDeleteFred, my deepest sympathy to you. I visited the "Wall", and I cried and cried, even though I didn't know personally any of the people whose names were carved on the "Wall". I wept for the lives cut short, for the pain of their families and friends, and for the pain of their comrades in arms. May God bless you, my dear friend.
ReplyDeleteDuring the late 60s I worked at a lab that was across the street from a veterans cemetery. Every day I would hear taps and the volleys from the rifles and the headstones kept moving closer and closer to the fence line. That and coming from a military family has made me most grateful for the sacrifice of our military even when I rail against those who send them into useless wars.
ReplyDeletethank you Grandmere.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteThere are years in which I weep all through this weekend. I feel rather as motheramelia does - "most grateful for the sacrifice of our military even when I rail against those who send them into useless wars."
Amen to the prayer.
Amelia, over 50,000 in that war, and for what? The illusionary domino effect. Oh, and the trumped up Gulf of Tonkin incident.
ReplyDeleteIt must have been terribly sad to watch the headstones move up and hear "Taps" and the volleys so often.
Margaret, you're welcome.
Ah, no more wars.
Paul, it's always a sad time for me, too.
ReplyDeleteLast night I saw part of a tribute on public television, but it was too much about how great America is and not enough about the tragedy of the fallen. I stopped watching.
Before I quit, I saw a pregnant sailor, a first for me, I believe.