Remember them for what they did

Brian Bresnahan:

I am in the habit of reminding others about the sacrifice of those who defend us. And willingly do so on days other than the holidays set aside specifically for that purpose.

So much emphasis is placed on remembering the deaths of the fallen, but I feel it more important to remember what they accomplished in the struggle for freedom. The words of a young Marine Lance Corporal from Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines are powerful reminders of what we need to focus on. In remembering his fellow, fallen Marines he said, “I want them to be remembered for what they did, not just because they died.”

What have the deaths of our fallen men and women attained?

Their deaths allow each of us to live freely. Their deaths let us fully experience secure lives of liberty and allow each man and woman to be equal. Their deaths allow each of us to exercise the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to which Our Declaration of Independence speaks.

Their sacrifice through each of America’s wars has been against a different threat, each needing to be fought differently. With each war, a new threat had to be understood and the doctrines of old had to be replaced with new strategies, tactics, and techniques. The warriors we honor, in their pursuit of victory, each, in some way, had to change and improve upon that which had been done before. They fought off the insistence for the old way of thinking and forged ahead on new paths toward victory.

And not only did they have to adapt to the new dangers presented by each enemy, but each time America’s citizens had to adjust to the new threat. Through the course of American history, our military and citizens alike have had to shake ourselves loose from that which had become normal, routine, common, and comfortable each time a new enemy arose.

And now, finding ourselves at war again, it is imperative we realize we are fighting a different kind of enemy in a different kind of war.

...
There is more. Read it all.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

29 % of companies say they are unlikely to keep insurance after Obamacare

Bin Laden's concern about Zarqawi's remains