They are now dust and ashes, earth and air, who were once people we loved.
This year we have added more names to the roll of the war dead that Memorial Day was created to honor. We have just fought a war and young Americans have died in a distant land. We must honor them and all who died before them.
We went to war for all sorts of reasons. This one joined the Marines to prove something. That one was a football star who wanted to be a hero. Another got a letter from his draft board after he flunked out of college. Still another was a nurse who was lied to by a recruiter. None of that matters much.
There are other things that don't matter much, either. Some were brave and some were not. Some sought danger and adventure; others avoided them as much as possible. Some were nice and others were nasty. Those things don't matter much. Not now.
What matters is that they gave their lives for a purpose. It may not have been a purpose they chose. That doesn't matter either. Their lives matter and the sacrifice matters and we must remember.
We can remember with rituals. This day began as Decoration Day, a day to decorate the graves of those who had died in war, so that they would not be forgotten. Now that it is Memorial Day, and part of the great three day holiday collection in the US, we often forget the purpose. But we can remember, if we choose.
The Wilmington National Cemetery is walking distance from where I live. There are hundreds of graves there with the names of war dead, going back to the War Between the States. Many of the dead are unremembered today. Their graves will not be decorated unless someone makes a special effort. This afternoon I will.
Somewhere near you is the grave of an American who died in battle. Find one that isn't decorated. Place a flower there. Say a prayer.
Rituals are important. They give us structure. But the natural way that we remember is with stories.
My buddy Jim lives up the street. These days he plays the blues and paints houses and writes screenplays. When he was much younger, he went to war.
Tonight we will get together and tell stories. We will tell of those who gave up their youth because their country said it was important. We will tell about some who gave up their lives as well. We will probably lie to each other a little, but we will remember a lot.
We honor the war dead with our rituals and memories, but our rituals and personal memories alone are not enough. We must make sure that our country remembers.
Countries and civilizations decline when they do not remember the key principles and the sacrifices that have been made for them. As a nation we have to remember the war dead. We have to remember why they died.
Those memories should shape how we live our national life. They should carry us forward. I had a good example of how this works a couple of years ago.
I had not been back to Parris Island since my graduation day in 1963, but the Most Beautiful Woman in the World and I returned for her nephew Trevor's graduation.
Many of the buildings were new, but things still looked the same. The haircuts were the same for sure. So was the intensity. So was the pride.
Partway through the ceremony, the officer in charge asked all the Marine vets in the audience to stand. Then he told the young Marines who were graduating, "These people have gone before you and set a standard that you must live up to".
Trevor is in Iraq today. He serves with the First Battalion, Seventh Marines, what Marines call "1/7". He is now part of 200 years of Marine tradition that others will have to live up to.
Our traditions and stories and memories are part of what gives our lives purpose. Our traditions and stories and memories are part of how we assure that our country lives up to the standard of those who have gone before.
We honor our war dead with ritual and with memory. But that is merely impotent action and solitary emotion unless we also honor them by working to make sure that our country lives up to its traditions.
That is our task. We are the living and we shape the future with our acts. We are responsible for what this nation is and will become. We honor our war dead by accepting that challenge and by making sure that what they died for remains worth dying for.
It is up to us. They cannot do it. They are now dust and ashes, earth and air, who were once people we loved.
