POST SCRIPTS

“The soldier's heart, the soldier's spirit, the soldier's soul are everything. Unless the soldier's soul sustains him, he cannot be relied upon and will fail himself, his commander, and his country in the end.” --General of the Army George C. Marshall

That quote is all about the soldier…his heart, his spirit, his soul. But the general goes a step further when he says the soldier’s soul must sustain him…and I can’t help wondering who and what sustains the soldier’s soul? Obviously, for those who are religious, it is God who plays this most important roll…followed by his fellow soldiers, his family and friends. But the question that haunts is, what part do “we the people” play? We the people ask so much of him…isn’t it time we asked what our obligations and duties are in sustaining the soldier?

WWII must have had its detractors, all wars do, but if histories tale is to be believed it's safe to say that this country was solidly behind the military, the war, and America’s allies. It wasn’t just the tremendous sacrifices our men and women were making that motivated but also recognition of the threat that Nazi Germany and her allies posed. This combination made the will of the people strong, like diamonds, and filled them with enough heart to sustain our fighting forces and our efforts at home…it created the power and force to win.

I had a neighbor when I was a kid. He built a huge woodshop on his property and could be found working there every extra moment of his life…night and day. My father told me he kept busy to occupy his mind because he had been a prisoner of war...keeping busy kept him sane. The hushed way that my father told the story let me know right away that he had a great deal of respect for our neighbor. He wanted to impress upon me that this man's sacrifice was great…that we should honor him. People spoke of veterans that way when I was young.

In a few short years my own peers were involved in different war, the war in Vietnam. The experiences of the returning soldiers would be quite different from that of their fathers or grandfathers. As I observed these differences in many of them taking shape as unbearable grief, shame, dishonor, anger and guilt…the nub of that question…what part do we citizens play in sustaining the soldier…grew and began to take hold. We didn't hear about soldiers that managed to move forward after Vietnam...but emotional casualties were paraded before us in news items and film as if their own tragedy was the only honor they deserved. As if the pain was ours to maintain and exploit. It made me sick...it was a lie.

In the years following Vietnam the question continued to smolder quietly at the back of my mind. I moved past Vietnam, we all managed to move on, awkwardly…memories and images fading…but the question nagged. I guess I just wanted so badly to be able to say that my country was and always would be united behind our soldiers. I wanted all of us to stand behind them foursquare…but the reality is, we are not now and we have not been united behind them. Right after 911 there was hope that we had put that chapter behind us. Instead time passed and we found we are divided still. One part of the country, sadly, is willing, eager even, to go beyond silent sulking and mewing to once again actively treat our soldiers, their Commander-in-Chief, and the mission with complete disdain. In doing so, they treat their country with disdain. This is unacceptable.

And so I find myself here on memorial Day 2007, privileged to write on this blog, and wondering how we can show support to our military men and women so as to overcome this divide. Is it even possible to give them all they need so they can return home secure in the knowledge that what they were fighting for mattered to us…and to our posterity? America is their home ground where the heart and spirit of the freedom they fight for lives and breathes. How do we continue to take part in this awesome greatness and bounty having been witnesses to the daily trashing of our soldiers and their mission without speaking out? I cannot. I leave you with these thoughts to ponder and act upon for yourselves.

General George Patton said, "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." As we pause to reflect on this commemorative day, and as we go about our lives in future days, let us begin to think about our words and the effect they have on the soldier. Let us honor the dead, but let us also remain ever mindful of our obligations and duties to the living…giving them respect, dignity, and love both as they fight and upon their return home. We are the earthly source of power for them in their efforts. They have earned the right to expect and experience our gratitude and understanding of the importance of of their mission and purpose. Anything less brings dishonor that forces another question…

Do we deserve the freedom that has been bought with the blood and loss of these brave committed souls? We know what the answer should be but...no, I can’t say we do, not entirely, not for a quite a long time...

...and still they soldier on. May God bless them.