Memorial Day Sunday

Here is a speech given by CDR Carl Meuser,USN, this morning during our services at FUMC, San Diego, CA. I don't think anyone could have said it better.

In the United States, three days are set aside to recognize those who are serving or have served in the military: Armed Forces Day, Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. Armed Forces Day, observed in May recognizes those of us who are currently serving. Veteran’s Day, the eleventh day of the eleventh month, recognizes those who have previously served. Memorial Day, which began as “Decoration Day” in the 1860’s, recognizes those who have died in our nation’s wars. At First Church, all three groups are recognized on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, and we are grateful to the larger church for this recognition.
As a current member of the military, I am going to focus this morning on those who have gone before and what we can take from their deeds. Holidays such as Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day are about taking the time to stop and look at our past. George Santanaya famously observed that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Of course, examining history is a challenging endeavor, particularly when dealing with the subject of war, emotional as that topic is. It is well that this subject be emotional, as few things are more dangerous to us as God’s children than to be uncaring and cavalier about the decisions regarding entering and conducting war.
Looking at our history, we do ourselves a disservice if we look simply for events that we would not want to repeat. We must also look into the past at the sacrifice, the fortitude and courage of the individuals involved and draw inspiration from them.
We have within our congregation men and women who distinguished themselves in the worst conflicts of the age. We who currently serve hear the words, “The Resistance”, Bastogne, Leyte Gulf, USS INDIANAPOLIS, Da Nang, Yankee Station, and we are humbled to stand in the presence of those who were actually there. When you look upon them, though, you will notice that they do not look like the heroes of antiquity. They are not the tallest and broadest of shoulder. They look very much like you and me – and that is very much the point. This nation, which was founded of God’s children, by God’s children, for ALL of God’s children, has survived because unassuming men and women were willing to march into the valley of the shadow of death to confront the evils of their age.
The holiday we now call Memorial Day sprang spontaneously from the wake of our Civil War, much as the poppies that sprang from the war-churned fields of Flanders. Thoughtful people who survived to inherit the PROMISE of a land where all men and women were created equal and endowed with inalienable rights understood that it was right to pause and show gratitude to those who had stepped forward and offered themselves upon the altar of freedom.
Sadly, Memorial Day is all too often viewed as simply the day when the public swimming pool opens and it becomes okay to wear white to social functions. It must mean more to us than that. Certainly, it is right to be thankful as we stand before the graves of those who perished, but the true test is what we do on Tuesday morning – and thereafter.
The promise of this nation is not fulfilled by mythic heroes, just as that promise was not preserved by the tallest and broadest of shoulder. The promise is fulfilled by unassuming people who look very much like you and me – people who take responsibility for their inalienable rights. It is people who assemble to thoughtfully and respectfully debate the pressing matters of our country and protest for their causes. It is people who cast carefully considered votes – for whichever candidate they think most fit for office. It is people like you and me who expend sweat and treasure to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
And so, tomorrow, remember and be thankful for the young Americans who did not return from that Valley of the Shadow of Death, and do not, do not, forget on Tuesday morning what they preserved for you.