Honoring the fallen. . .

One of the most poignant patriotic moments I have ever observed happened at my father-in-law's funeral.  As the casket lay in the front of the church, a slow line of aged veterans came down the aisle.  Each one stopped before the casket, gave the salute, and solemnly made the way out.  It was a very slow procession as many had trouble walking.  This was about duty and respect and they took is so very seriously that is was impossible not to watch them without being humbled by their devotion.

We as a nation stand in debt to those who gave their lives in service to the cause of liberty.  I am not sure there is a family in American that cannot look back on a relative who never came home from the battlefront or who came home in a casket.  Living so near Ft. Campbell, this is still a point of awe as I look out on many active duty men and women on Sunday morning.  Having served here for more than 30 years, I have known many who paid the highest price for their devotion to God and country.  How can we sit unmoved by this witness as we sit down to our hamburgers and hotdogs this Memorial Day? 

The sad truth is that today we expect more from our service men and women than ever before.  They must be ready at a moment's notice to go wherever they are sent.  They do not serve for the money but out of devotion to their nation and to protect the precious liberties so many have died to obtain and preserve.  We have treated the military as an experimental focus group for social engineering fad and trend.  We have brought them back from deployments broken and then discharged them when they were no longer useful to us.  We have put more of our funding into weapons than into the support of these noble men and women.  As we look at the rows of white tombstones and crosses that dot the landscape at home and throughout the world, it might be a good time for us to reflect upon those currently serving and how we treat those who are put in harm's way on our behalf.  It would be a good time for us to consider how we use this precious gift of liberty and to challenge both the self-centered nature of our exercise of freedom and our willingness to surrender that freedom without a fight to government or culture.  It would be a proper time for us to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and how our lives reflect an honest appreciation both for the freedoms we enjoy and those who daily stand guard to protect them.