Memorial Day: Remembering Those Who Served

A sermon delivered at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation (Blacksburg, VA), May 24, 2009, by the Reverend Christine Brownlie.

Memorial Day is one of those holidays that most of us don’t take very seriously. We know that the holiday was created to honor those who died in military service and that there are community events to honor our “fallen heroes.” But for most Americans, Memorial Day has become little more than a day off from work. If the weather is nice, we fire up the grill. If not, we go shopping.

It’s my suspicion that many Unitarian Universalists are inclined to forget the “true meaning” of Memorial Day. We’re uncomfortable with the emotion of patriotism. We’re uneasy with the military and war and all that this means. So we don’t go there.

It’s nice to take a break — many of us really need some time off about now. But I believe that we pay a price for turning away from the true meaning of the day. Each person lost in battle was taken from those who loved him or her, and that loss can never be completely erased. Each death is a tragedy of unfulfilled potential and broken dreams. We should not turn away. We should not forget. It is heartless for us to do so, not only because we forget the terrible sacrifices that have been made for us by generations of soldiers, but also because when we fail to contemplate the true cost and horror of war, then we begin to accept war as an inevitable part of our life.

That’s what I learned from my parents and teachers. They said that war was terrible, but necessary to protect our country. The destruction and the suffering that war created was the price of freedom. As a child, I knew families that had lost sons or brothers in the wars that were fought in the last Century: WWI, WWII, the Korean War. Years later, their parents and siblings still grieved over their loss and the talents and futures that had been wasted by war. I didn’t really understand this until years later when two or three of my high school classmates were drafted and sent to Viet Nam, and I worried over them. One was killed. He was a leader, a brilliant debater with a quick sense of humor, and a star tennis player. He was one of those guys that everyone liked. His death tore at his family and was felt deeply by our community, which was so proud of him when he went off to war.

Contemplating the cost of this single loss, I became curious about the number of American lives lost in all the wars that our nation has fought, starting with the American Revolution to the present day. The number for the major wars including Iraq and Afghanistan is 2,760,640. There were many “smaller wars,” and my rough estimate is that these honored dead would add another 500,000, which raises the total to about 3,200,000.

A disturbing number, but actually quite low when compared with the numbers of casualties that major European counties have experienced. The former Soviet Union’s count far exceeds ours. And we have not faced the civilian deaths due to war that many other nations have experienced. One commentator wondered if the fact that the United States had been spared the devastation of modern warfare on its own soil influenced the American understanding of war.

This is something to think about as the war in Iraq is winding down and the war in Afghanistan is heating up. I wonder if we would be looking more diligently for additional or alternative solutions to the terrible problems of that poor country if we’d experienced some of the horrors of war that the Afghan people have endured for decades. I can’t help but wonder if some of the billions of dollars spent on the military and the very corrupt government — I mean Afghan’s not ours though we could pay some attention to this issue as well — might have been better used to provide water, sanitation, schools, adequate food, and medical care.

I imagine that the war in Afghanistan will not be the political issue that that war in Iraq has been — at least for a while. And this brings up a painful dilemma, which, I believe, may be one of the reasons that we turn away from the true meaning of Memorial Day. How do we support the troops if we don’t support the war?

For my generation that was so deeply affected by the war in Viet Nam, this question is highly charged. As we watched night after night the film clips of bombings and battles, as we gazed at the often-shocking photographs in the newspapers, many of us were horrified by what was going on. Some of us felt ashamed of what our troops were doing, and I believe that for some people, that sense of shame was the source of the hostility that led to the nastiness that greeted returning soldiers, including name calling and spitting. It’s awful to have someone spit on you. It happened to me as a demonstrator against the war — payback, I guess.

Thankfully, we’re not seeing that kind of ugly welcome for the troop coming home from Iraq, even though a growing number of Americans no longer support that war. But the question is still out there, at least in the blog-o-sphere: How do we support our troops if we don’t support the war?

I’m talking about real support that saves limb and lives, not vinyl bumper magnets or T-shirts that proclaim “Proud To Be An American!” I’m also not talking about some of the programs that link you up with a soldier so that you can send him or her a Christmas package or contribute a cell-phone so that a soldier can call home. It’s not that these are bad ideas. I sent a couple of packages last Christmas, and I hope that this small gesture helped someone in need of some TLC. But to my mind, our troops need a lot more support than these gestures.

If we truly support our troops, then we need to make sure that those who are sent into combat have the things they need to be protected as much as possible. It’s shameful that families of Marines had to purchase costly body armor for their loved ones because our government didn’t think it was needed. I’m appalled that soldiers had to figure out ways to shield their vehicles to protect themselves from roadside bombs and attacks. I understand that former President Bush and his advisors expected that the war would be short and easy to win. Body armor was not high on the lists of “must-have” items for their idea of a successful outcome. But when it became obvious that this expectation was an error in judgment, then additional body and vehicle armor should have been made available as quickly as possible for as many as possible so that more of our troops come home — whole in body and mind.

When Johnny comes marching home again Hurrah! Hurrah!
When Johnny comes marching home again Hurrah! Hurrah!
The men will cheer and the boys will shout,
The ladies they will all turn out.
And we’ll all feel gay when Johnny comes marching home!

I learned this song when I was in the third or fourth grade, and I loved it. I could imagine the brave and handsome young soldiers being welcomed back from war, medals on their chests, men and boys cheering, teary-eyed mothers waving at their boy, the girls all agog at the men who looked so fine in their uniforms. Even though I’d see WWII veterans who had lost limbs or carried the scars of wounds on their faces, when I sang this song I never thought about the “Johnnys” who came home in a wheel chair, or strapped to a gurney, or tormented by the terrible sights and sounds of battle to the point that they were unable to function in a normal way. But of course, many of our soldiers return from Iraq or Afghanistan with serious injuries — both physical and mental — that will require long-term care.

I believe that most Americans would agree that the men and women who are injured in war, deserve the very best medical care for their wounded bodies and minds. In 2007 it was estimated that one in every four returning soldiers required some level of care. The same report revealed that many of the local VA hospitals and clinics were unable to deliver care to these new vets. Most were not even equipped to treat the kinds of injuries and problems that these men and women were dealing with day-to-day. You’ve probably read the sad stories of men and women who are waiting for the approval of their veteran’s benefits while they run up enormous medical bills.

The sad truth is that many of these victims of battle who would have died in previous wars, receive first-rate care that saves their lives and makes it possible for them to come home, but they will still need long-term care once they have returned home. That care, and the money to pay for it, can be very hard to come by. This leaves family members in the difficult position of trying to provide care and act as advocates for their loved one, in addition to dealing with their own grief and often tremendous stress.

All of this costs money — lots and lots of money! And lately money for anything other than a corporate bailout has been hard to find. But as Vice President Biden said in a speech he delivered to members of the 14^th Airborne Corps returning from Iraq,

“We have a lot of obligations, but only one truly sacred obligation, and that's to care for those who we send to war, and to give them everything they need when they return."

Biden didn’t say the “T” word as in “Taxes,” but we know that the cost of this care will affect our own pockets. As well it should, since these men and women have been injured protecting us and our freedom from terrorists and their dirty bombs.

Even if we support our troops with better armor and better equipment, better medical and psychiatric care for the wounded, better support for families (including raising pay so that fewer military families need food stamps to get by), there is much more that we need to do to protect our military men and women from injury and death.

Our nation must become more deeply dedicated to working for peace at every opportunity. War is just too costly to be an acceptable tool of foreign policy for the US or any nation. I’m not talking about appeasement in the face of real threats. Every country and every person has the right to self-defense. But the strategy of peace must be studied, developed, and strengthened. We can begin in our own homes and our circles of friends, family, and colleagues. We have an extraordinary resource in our community that we can draw on: The Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech. We can encourage our representatives at all levels of government to fund programs that teach young people the skills and values that promote peace. And while we’re on the topic of young folks, how about getting rid of the horrifically violent video games that some find so addictive? We know that everything we do affects the structure and functioning of our brains. Why would we want our young people who will be the voters, military leaders, and government officials of the future, spending hours every day absorbed in albeit simulated but still mindless violence?

The work of creating peace is hard and slow and sometimes discouraging. But if we refuse to take it on, then peace will never be won. Our troops will be sent again and again and again into wars that claim thousands of lives and damage minds, bodies, and spirits.

Let’s support our troops by remembering the lessons of the past. Let’s protect them as they go off to the battles that are being waged now in far-off lands. Let’s provide the care that they deserve when they come home. And let’s renew our determination to work for peace among the nations so that in the future, Memorial Day will be a time when we celebrate the dream that all shall live in peace and unafraid.

May it be so!