Memorial Day

Memorial Day

During the terrible days of the Vietnam War, I was in the seminary and exempt from the draft. I was shielded from the harsh reality of war except for the evening news that graphically displayed the horrors of war. Those years of political and social unrest created scars in our country that can never be erased.

Today is our national holiday that calls us to remember the price those men and women have paid with their lives. We often hear that freedom is not free because it comes at a heavy cost of human life. Since the founding of our nation over one million lives have been sacrificed in war for our freedom.

In 1868 on the bloody battlefield at Gettysburg, the first Decoration Day was held honoring the Civil War dead. At that dedication it was said, “For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” The Civil War claimed a half million lives, more lives lost than that of either World War I or World War II.

Memorial Day was designated a national holiday in 1968. It is a tradition in our national cemeteries that on this day an American flag be placed on every grave to honor those who have served their country in the cause of freedom. In our fast paced world it is easy to forget that this holiday is a time to pause and reflect of the price paid in human life for our freedom.

I am reminded of the words Jesus spoke facing the reality of his own death which would release humankind from the chains of enslavement. “No one has greater love nor stronger commitment than to lay down his own life for his friends.”