Memorial Day...

On May 31st, 2011 I will be the guest speaker for the Paxton Memoiral Day Service at Glen Cemetary in Paxton. I was asked by the PBL band director and former commander of Prairie Post Legion 150. I am honored to be thought of as someone who can do this for such a special day. I have worried over this for along time but have finally come up with a finished speech. I will present it here for those that may not be able to make it to the ceremony. I don't know if it is good or bad, but it was written from the heart.

NOTE; I will also be marching in the parade to the cemetary in the uniform of a Revolutionary War soldier. Hence the reference to this in the speech.


What is Memorial Day and why do we still observe it? For far too many it is merely a day off from work or school, a day to get great deals at the stores, a day to grill outdoors and gather with friends and family with little thought to the true meaning of the day. To do so without regard for the real meaning of Memorial Day, belittles it and those it is meant to honor. But for others such as all of us gathered here, it is a day to reflect, honor and mourn those that have given their lives in the line of military duty for the security of our country.

Memorial Day, established on May 5th, 1868, was originally called Decoration Day. It was a set aside from all others to adorn and decorate the graves of fallen Union and Confederate soldiers of the Civil War. From General Orders #11 General John Logan, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, it reads;
Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation's gratitude, the soldier's and sailor's widow and orphan.”
Since then, Memorial Day has come to memorialize and remember all American Soldiers who have fallen in combat from any war. I stand before you today in the garb of a soldier of the American Revolution so that you will remember those soldiers that gave their lives so that a new nation would be born on this continent. A nation forged in the blood of patriots that would grow to be unlike any seen before. Beside me stands the Darrel Foster family, dressed in the uniforms of soldiers from the Civil war. They too are here to remind you of those soldiers that fought and died in a conflict that threatened to rip this country apart. Those soldiers gave their lives in order that the Union of the United States would endure.
Look around you in this cemetery. Each American flag designates the grave of a person who was an American serviceman or woman. Regardless of whether they died in conflict, or went to their eternal rest, comfortably abed, they made the commitment to stand and defend this country. We may not know their stories. We may not know if they served in times of war or peace, but we know that they were ready to serve when needed.

Walt Whitman, commenting on the horrors of the Civil War, said” Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal background of…the …War. The real war will never get in the books.” This could be said of any war, from any time.
Earlier this year, the United States lost its last WWI veteran. His story and experiences are now part of history, part of legend. Out of 16 million men and women who served during WWII there are fewer than 2 million still alive today. There are many with us still that have served in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. They all have a story to tell.
I challenge the young people in this gathering, learn about the history of our nation’s wars and to reach out to those service men and women who fought in them, engage them if they are willing, and learn their story. Learn of their experiences. From them you will find out what it is that makes an American soldier stand out from all others. From them you will find out what it is to be a real patriot; to be a hero; to be a true American.

When I was first asked to speak at the Memorial Day Ceremony I was a bit reluctant. Normally, as I have observed in the past, the guest speaker was usually a talented PBL high school student or a member of the Paxton Legion. What would I, your average Paxton citizen, and someone who has never served in the armed forces have to say about Memorial Day? But I am a student of history and I decided to look at Memorial Day from a historical aspect. I read about history, I have written about it, and I involve myself in the historical re-enactments of certain periods of history. The one thing that is revealed to me in all this is how the American serviceman, the American warrior, stands head and shoulders above all others in American History. America, for all that it is, for all that it stands for, and for all that it gives to each of us, has all come from the efforts of those who have fought and died in the service of the United States Armed forces.

Albert Einstein said that, “As long as there are people, there will be wars.” This can be taken further to state, that as long as there are governments there will be people willing to make wars. And wars cannot be fought without warriors who are willing to give their all for their government and their country. The nineteenth century German military officer and philosopher, Karl Von Clausewitz, stated in his book “On War”, that “War is regarded as the continuation of state policy by other means.” In other words, when diplomacy fails a government, soldiers, sailors and guns usually solve the matter.

Look at the history of our nation. It was born in the blood of patriots during the American War for Independence as we struggled to break free from the tyrannical rule of another nation.

The War of 1812 assured the world, that despite being a fledgling nation, Americans would continue to fight and die for our independence and sovereignty.

During the Mexican-American War, our soldiers fought and died to ensure that America could continue to grow and not be unduly constrained in its boundaries.

In that most terrible of wars, the American Civil War, where American fought American, more lives were lost in this war than all other American wars combined. The soldiers and sailors on both sides fought for a cause they believed in, but in the end it was a fight to save the union of the United States, and in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
During the Spanish American war, America’s warrior stepped up to defend against aggression and incursions from world powers, only to defeat them and put the United States on an equal footing with the rest of the world.

American warriors entered into the conflicts of World Wars I and II and shed their blood so that not only American’s freedom would be assured but also the freedom of other nations by defeating oppression and tyranny around the world.

And while the wars of Korea and Vietnam were not popularly supported by American citizens, those American Service men and women committed themselves to the fight, and many died to defend what was considered a threat to our democratic ideology.

Most recently, America finds itself fighting a war, not only for our national safety, but also our ideals, and our way of life. Young men and women of the United States Armed Forces are deployed around the world, in places that most people could not find on a map. They are fighting a war like no other. Not only are they soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, but they are also diplomats, teachers, and ambassadors representing the country they serve. They not only have to win a combat operation, but they have to win the hearts and minds of those they are fighting against, thereby trying to make friends of our enemies.
No matter what time period, no matter what historical event, no matter whether a decision to send American men and women to fight is right or wrong, popular or unpopular, there have always been those that will step up, commit themselves to the fight and defend with their lives our country, our ideals, our way of life, and our freedoms. Over 1 million, 300 thousand combat related deaths of US service men and women throughout American history attests to that.

Once more I would like to take a passage from the orders of General Logan on that first Memorial Day in 1868, for I think it sums up nicely why it was first celebrated and why we observe it still.
“What can aid more to assure this result than cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes? Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”


In closing, I ask again. What is Memorial Day? Simply put, it is a day that the living can dedicate
“To those who died securing peace and freedom; to those who served in conflict to protect our land, and sacrificed their dreams of the day to preserve the hope of our nation, keeping
America the land of the free for over two and a half centuries, we owe our thanks and our honor. It is important to not only recognize their service but to respect their devotion to duty and to ensure that the purpose for which they fought will never be forgotten.” – www.usmemorialday.org

God Bless you all, God Bless Paxton, God Bless America and God Bless our Service men and women.
Thank you all very much,