Memorial Day is a time to stop and reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Let us remember to do this. As parents, I want us to teach our children to appreciate the sacrifices others have made – and are making – so that they can enjoy the freedom and lifestyle that they have. Freedom is never free, it is bought with blood and sacrifice and I don’t want us to ever forget that. I want my children to understand that someone paid the price for them to have what they do. Young men and women have sacrificed, suffered, and died miles from their families so we can enjoy free speech, choose our paths, worship as we see fit, and pursue happiness.
This weekend is a time to set aside personal feelings about Iraq or any other war. No war is popular at the time. Spilled blood knows no politics. We should remember this, stand together as a country, and honor those who have died for us. Every life is precious and I wish no one had to die in war, but may we honor those who have died for this country. A country where freedom reigns and opinions may be expressed without fear of prison or torture. That is not so everywhere. God bless America, and may God bless those who have died for her.
My prayer is that we use the freedoms those soldiers purchased for us for good and will live our lives worthy of the price paid. That is quite a challenge. What if you could speak with a soldier who just died for you – what would you say? And what would he say? He might encourage you to live your life to the fullest and enjoy the freedom he just bought you. He might ask that you do something decent and constructive with your life since it cost him such a high price. When one of the heroes dies in the movie Saving Private Ryan, he looks at James Ryan, whose life he has just saved, and says, “Earn this.”
That’s what I want to impress upon my children to do – to earn the life they have been given.
In the American Revolution, 4,435 Americans lost their lives. 2,260 died in the War of 1812 with Great Britain. In the Mexican War of 1846, 13,283 died. In the Civil War, 558,052 died. (In that war, every casualty was an American one.) The Spanish American War of 1898 cost 2,446 lives. World War I took 116,708 American lives and World War II, 407,316. Korea, 33,651; Vietnam, 58,168; the First Gulf War, 293; 75 died in Kosovo; 18 in Somalia; 390 in Afghanistan; 3,422 in Iraq (as of noon Wednesday), and climbing. Some of these deaths were from combat, others from sickness or accidents, but all of them amount to an ultimate loss and sacrifice.
Add up these numbers up and we realize we are remembering at least 1,200,517 men and women who have died in war for our country.
This does not include the two million or so more who have returned from war alive, but seriously wounded. (And many believe every soldier returns psychologically wounded.) It also does not include those soldiers who have died in times of peace or other conflicts, nor does this list include the millions of coalition and allied forces who have fought and died along side us.
I hope by setting aside a weekend to remember those who died for us, we will remember to be appreciative people, and we will teach our children to follow our example.
This weekend is a time to set aside personal feelings about Iraq or any other war. No war is popular at the time. Spilled blood knows no politics. We should remember this, stand together as a country, and honor those who have died for us. Every life is precious and I wish no one had to die in war, but may we honor those who have died for this country. A country where freedom reigns and opinions may be expressed without fear of prison or torture. That is not so everywhere. God bless America, and may God bless those who have died for her.
My prayer is that we use the freedoms those soldiers purchased for us for good and will live our lives worthy of the price paid. That is quite a challenge. What if you could speak with a soldier who just died for you – what would you say? And what would he say? He might encourage you to live your life to the fullest and enjoy the freedom he just bought you. He might ask that you do something decent and constructive with your life since it cost him such a high price. When one of the heroes dies in the movie Saving Private Ryan, he looks at James Ryan, whose life he has just saved, and says, “Earn this.”
That’s what I want to impress upon my children to do – to earn the life they have been given.
In the American Revolution, 4,435 Americans lost their lives. 2,260 died in the War of 1812 with Great Britain. In the Mexican War of 1846, 13,283 died. In the Civil War, 558,052 died. (In that war, every casualty was an American one.) The Spanish American War of 1898 cost 2,446 lives. World War I took 116,708 American lives and World War II, 407,316. Korea, 33,651; Vietnam, 58,168; the First Gulf War, 293; 75 died in Kosovo; 18 in Somalia; 390 in Afghanistan; 3,422 in Iraq (as of noon Wednesday), and climbing. Some of these deaths were from combat, others from sickness or accidents, but all of them amount to an ultimate loss and sacrifice.
Add up these numbers up and we realize we are remembering at least 1,200,517 men and women who have died in war for our country.
This does not include the two million or so more who have returned from war alive, but seriously wounded. (And many believe every soldier returns psychologically wounded.) It also does not include those soldiers who have died in times of peace or other conflicts, nor does this list include the millions of coalition and allied forces who have fought and died along side us.
I hope by setting aside a weekend to remember those who died for us, we will remember to be appreciative people, and we will teach our children to follow our example.
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