The heroes I know are all dead. They died for various reasons, but most all of them died for their friends, and on behalf of their countrymen living and unborn. They died understanding that somebody has to be the point of the spear and they accepted that role. Some died in training accidents while preparing for combat. Others died while engaging an enemy of the United States of America. Still others died as a result of their wounds - in a hospital, while courageous medical personnel tried in vain to preserve their lives. In all cases, they gave what Abraham Lincoln termed, "their last full measure of devotion".
For them there will be no more back yard bar-b-ques, no trips to the beach, no walks under the moonlight holding the hand of someone they love, no warm embraces from parents and children. They 'gave their yesterday so that we might have our today'.
My poor words can't give adequate tribute to those fallen.
The freeways are clogged with people trying to leave town and for most of them, it's a great three-day weekend. It's not a happy weekend for me, because I am taken back and my thoughts are circumscribed by the memory of those heroes. We live in irreverent times because those rivers of blood shed so that the nation could endure are seldom remembered. I don't suggest that we wallow in tears or regrets - only that we take time to recall the last full measure of devotion -- on MEMORIAL DAY. --LL
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