Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor: Memorial Day 2014

by Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Today is a day for remembering our honored dead, and our honored living. Today is Memorial Day.

This day was first set aside after the Civil War, in memoriam for the soldiers of both sides who fell in that dreadful war of brothers.

Since that time, the United States has been involved in numerous conflicts: The Spanish-American War. World War I. World War II. The Korean War. The Vietnam War. The First Gulf War. The Second Gulf War. Bosnia. Iraq. Afghanistan. Pakistan. Somalia. And more. With each successive conflict, the fallen have been remembered on this day. 

And, like Veterans' Day later in the year, on Memorial Day we also remember and honor those who returned. 

There was a gentleman named Francis Scott Key. He was a poet. He is best remembered for penning the words that later became our National Anthem. But he wrote much more. I use his words to honor those veterans who came home alive, though not necessarily whole; and for those who have yet to come home.

When The Warrior Returns
- Francis Scott Key
When the warrior returns, from the battle afar,
To the home and the country he nobly defended,
O! Warm be the welcome to gladden his ear,
And loud be the joy that his perils are ended:
In the full tide of song let his fame roll along,
To the feast-flowing board let us gratefully throng,
Where, mixed with the olive, the laurel shall wave,
And form a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.
Columbians! A band of your brothers behold,
Who claim the reward of your hearts' warm emotion,
When your cause, when your honor, urged onward the bold,
In vain frowned the desert, in vain raged the ocean:
To a far distant shore, to the battle's wild roar,
They rushed, your fair fame and your rights to secure:
Then, mixed with the olive, the laurel shall wave,
And form a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.
In the conflict resistless, each toil they endured,
'Till their foes fled dismayed from the war's desolation:
And pale beamed the Crescent, its splendor obscured
By the light of the Star Spangled flag of our nation.
Where each radiant star gleamed a meteor of war,
And the turbaned heads bowed to its terrible glare,
Now, mixed with the olive, the laurel shall wave,
And form a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.
Our fathers, who stand on the summit of fame,
Shall exultingly hear of their sons the proud story:
How their young bosoms glow'd with the patriot flame,
How they fought, how they fell, in the blaze of their glory.
How triumphant they rode o'er the wondering flood,
And stained the blue waters with infidel blood;
How, mixed with the olive, the laurel did wave,
And formed a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.
Then welcome the warrior returned from afar,
To the home and the country he nobly defended:
Let the thanks due to valor now gladden his ear,
And loud be the joy that his perils are ended.
In the full tide of song let his fame roll along,
To the feast-flowing board let us gratefully throng,
Where, mixed with the olive, the laurel shall wave,
And form a bright wreath for the brows of the brave.

And for those who went to a far better Home, we remember, and we honor. And we hear them speak, thus:

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep
- Mary Frye (1932)
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow;
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain;
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush;
I am in the graceful rush.
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

On this day that, to most, marks the beginning of summer, on this day of cookouts and gatherings and baseball games and celebrations, let us not be so caught up in the celebrations that we forget those who enabled us to celebrate.

"And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." ~Isaiah 2:4, ASV

Amen. This can't come soon enough to suit me.

If you are a soldier, a veteran, or the family member of one who gave his or her all for this nation, for our liberties, I salute you. Stand tall this day. You have my eternal gratitude.

God bless you all.

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

Memorial Day 2013

Today, in honor of Memorial Day, we're going to have a guest post from a friend of mine. He is a veteran and comes from a long line of veterans. He is a member of Lady Osborn's Pub on Facebook, a closed group of my friends and fans. His words are far better and more meaningful with regard to the day than mine could ever be.

-Stephanie Osborn
http://www.stephanie-osborn.com

~~~
Memorial Day
by Christopher MacArthur

I come from such a long line of Soldiers, it gives me pause, a chain of us going back centuries. American Revolution, Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Grenada, Desert Storm. I'm afraid I am among the last to serve; I don't see any of my relatives or their children following me to serve again; such has our society changed. Perhaps I'm wrong, who knows? Future history hasn't been written yet.

Only a few of us left now. Myself, an older brother, two nieces. We're it.

One of my most cherished pictures is myself at age 5, sitting in a chair. Surrounding me is my dad and two uncles, Veterans of WWII and Korea. Men who answered the call and fought hard to save the world from being plunged into darkness. Such things they saw, the things they did. Storming the beaches in the Pacific. Flying over Nazi Germany in thin metal cans, risking their lives to get our own back. They're all departed now, but still live in my head and heart and thus are never really gone.

I wonder if this is appreciated by most of our citizens anymore, except for small, trite accolades such as "The Greatest Generation." Save for rare places such as here at A/T, or from other Veterans, do you know that despite wearing military garb on such significant days, almost no one even acknowledges it anymore? They're all in a hurry to get their day off and their BBQ by the pool. Is this it? Is that all? As the Raven said, "Nevermore?"

But then I see returned Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, battered and worn, but still standing proud despite their wounds visible and invisible, and I know that we're not done yet. Not yet. Not yet.

The line from the movie, Patton, about "Americans hate to lose," resonates with me. That is right and proper. We servicemen, past and present, hate to lose. This should hearten you, given the forces operating today from without and within to bring us down. Take comfort, there are still those who will man the ramparts in extremis.

We haven't lost that fundamental American quality, we've simply lost our way for a time. Ultimately though, I believe this will set us back onto the correct path. Character and Quality over Ideology any old day of the week. Just remember what these men did on our behalf. If they did these things, so can the rest of us.

A million dead since our inception as a nation, so that 300 million could live in safety and security today, a free people. And as long as we remember their sacrifice, that we will not lose, that no alien influence can enslave us without a fight, we will persevere.

So today, reflect on these things. Salute the flag of a free people. Remember our honored dead and their sacrifice. Thank a Veteran. Don't be in such a hurry to get your day off, it'll still be there when you're done.




~Christopher MacArthur

~~~

Amen.
-Stephanie