War is Hell

Those of you who have been around long enough to remember THIS surely know my feelings on Memorial Day. I want to try and put them into words again today. There is no Dad Blog tilt to this one other than to say I hope this is the type of thing we will all teach our children when they are old enough.

Having just finished watching the HBO miniseries "The Pacific", I have plenty of thoughts about our veterans banging around in my head.  The show does the best it can to illustrate the horrors of war that our troops experienced in places like Guadalcanal, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa.

The series finale, airing just two weeks ago, closed out with one of the main characters, Eugene Sledge, sitting under a shady tree with a blank stare on his face. His mother had been chiding him about his lack of movement towards getting a career and starting a life after the war. As she was storming off, Eugene's Dad pulled her aside and said, "You have no idea what men like him have been through."

That simple truth is the inspiration for this post today.

I can be the most ardent supporter of our troops to ever live. I can write a post supporting our fighting forces every single day. I can dedicate my life to their honor. But no matter what I do or how hard I try the simple truth is that I will never know what war is like. I will never know the horror that has been experienced by any soldier serving in any war.

I can never understand.

As we celebrate this Memorial Day American troops are still putting themselves in harms way. In Afghanistan battles are raging right now to retake Taliban controlled areas. In the coming months tens of thousands of US troops will participate in what is being called the biggest operation since the war began. They will all be fighting to gain control of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

The stakes for our troops are as high today as they were over 60 years ago in the Pacific. They are still putting their lives on the line and fighting through horrors we civilians can't imagine.

Memorial Day is the day we celebrate those who gave their lives in military service. We remember and pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Like Lee Greenwood sings for every patriotic occasion, "I am proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me."

This year I hope you will take time to remember all the troops that survived their respective wars as well. Remember their struggles with the psychological damage that war causes. Remember those troops who are still suffering that nightmare today. The battle doesn't end when their service time is up. It is a life long battle for many of them.

Let's all take the time to say a prayer today for everyone who has ever served in the armed forces. Whether they lived or died they all gave their lives in sacrifice for this country. Each and every one of them are heroes.

Happy Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Is Not Just for BBQ

The big three day Memorial Day weekend is upon us. Living in a town with three big lakes, I am well aware of what this holiday has become. It is the unofficial start of summer. Beginning Friday the population of our little town will nearly double in size. Everyone in the state of Arkansas with any type of flotation device will pack up their belongings and head our direction. Traffic will be snarled. The lakes will be packed. Drunken idiots will be everywhere.

I wonder how many of these people stop to actually remember what this holiday is about. Memorial day commemorates all the men and women who have died while in military service. I love to go to the lake and barbecue just like the next guy. I understand the excitement that summer brings. I only wish more people would put down their cheeseburgers for just a moment to remember our fallen heroes.

I was raised to be very proud of my country. My father served in the Navy during Viet Nam. Both of my grandpa's served in the Navy during World War II. I don't know much about my paternal grandfather's service. I do know that my mom's Dad served on the USS Saratoga aircraft carrier in many of the major battles of the Pacific. I am proud to know that the two previous generations of men in my family bravely served our country.

As you might imagine patriotism was a very important thing in our family. I still get upset by people who don't remove their hats during the National Anthem. There are always plenty of people at the ball game who never even acknowledge what is going on. They are too busy ordering a hot dog or talking to their girl friend.

I worry Braden's generation will lose touch with the past. You see it is easy for me to remember World War II. All I have to do is go see my Grandpa and talk to him about it. Everyone my age and older knew someone who served in that war. Having a living link to the war puts a face on it. It allows those occurrences from long ago to have some personal meaning. Soon all of these living links to history will be gone. It is our duty as parents to make sure our children know that this war was a huge turning point in world history. The U.S. and our allies stopped some terrible men from spreading hatred and tyranny across the globe. We must share these stories with our children so they never forget what brave men and women did in the past to provide us with the freedoms we have today. I for one will tell Braden everything I know about all the wars and conflicts our country has endured. I certainly want him to know the things that his Great-Grandpas did in WWII and what his Grandpa did in Viet Nam.

It goes on today with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It doesn't matter how any of us feel about those operations. The soldiers are still there risking their lives every day. We should certainly remember them too. Please take time this Memorial Day weekend to share a story about someone you know who served in the military. If you yourself served share what you are comfortable sharing. Don't let any of our heroes be forgotten. Some of them gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. Let's show them the respect they deserve.

Happy Memorial Day.