Memorial Day -- Let Us Always Remember

Memorial Day has always had a special relevance in my family and my husband's family, as we both grew up in the military. My father and my father-in-law were both career military officers, serving in the Army and the Air Force respectively, from World War II, through the Cold War era, through Korea and Vietnam. My mother-in-law served as a nurse in the Army. My uncle fought through North Africa and Italy during World War II. My husband's grandfather served in World War I and World War II. And our nephew has already served one tour in Iraq and continues to serve in the Army Reserve.

As an Army Chaplain, my father was often called upon to speak at Memorial Day ceremonies. Among the sermons that he kept, I found a Memorial Day address he gave in 1979, which was adapted from a sermon he first used in 1956. In the excerpts below, his words are far more eloquent than mine.

Memory's Price

"The observance of Memorial Day comes from a resolve within ourselves that our soldiers and sailors and airmen, who have given so much of themselves to protect our country and our way of life, as well as the cause of freedom around the world -- and indeed, for many it has meant the sacrifice of life itself -- that these men (and women) should not be forgotten, and that what they did for us should often be recalled. And that by an annual remembering of what they have sacrificed for us we can honor them and also in a way rededicate ourselves to the causes for which they fought and died.

" . . . Lest it become too easy for us to think occasionally of our heroic dead, and then to quickly forget -- I want to remind you . . . that memories do not come cheap, and that Memory always asks its price.

" . . . An inevitable first cost in paying for memories is tears and sorrow. . . . As nature has given us a memory so that we can recall the past, so she has also given us tears. . . . So to remember here today can cost us a lump in the throat, or a sadness in heart and mind as we remember. . . . It may cost us something to remember, but it is worth the price!

" . . . A second cost we must add to Memory's Price is the cost of honoring those who we remember.

" . . . To honor means to regard or treat with esteem and respect. If the living and dying of those whom we honor means anything for us we will want somehow to say so. Let there be not only silence but also the voice of tribute or an act of praise to give substance to our honoring of these.

" . . . A third part of Memory's Price is involved in what we call Dedication.

" . . . It is this dedication to the principles upon which our country is rock-based, that would most honor those we remember today: a resolve to have respect for our fellowman whatever his race or creed; to be honest and just in our dealings with each other; to have a home life where love for God and for each other is nurtured; to be an equal-opportunity nation!

" . . . Let us willingly pay Memory's full price, for our country will be the better for it, and so will we. Then Memorial Day will have best served its purpose."

excerpts from Memory's Price

© D. A. Morey