Posted by
Kenneth G. Davenport on Friday, May 25, 2007 5:43:21 PM
Monday is Memorial Day. It is a day where the nation is supposed to pay homage to the millions of Americans who have served this country in wartime and paid the ultimate price to ensure our freedom. It is a time for ever American to stop and thank those who cared enough about this nation that they would put themselves in harm’s way so that the rest of us could pursue our dreams. It pains me that most of us will treat Monday as just another paid holiday. We’ll go to the beach or the mall or to a movie, not taking but a moment to reflect on what the day represents and why it is so important. But that’s the subject for another time.
This Memorial Day will mark the fifth year of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Included among the mourners will be some 4,000 families who have lost a loved one to these conflicts. They are different in an important way from those who lost sons, brothers and friends in World War II, Korea or Vietnam. These are fresh wounds of young families who lost soldiers and marines who were just kids – many not old enough to drink. Their grief is fresh and their wounds are raw. Unlike previous wars where history has put their sacrifice into perspective, these families have no such certainty and no such comfort. The constant din of political posturing over Iraq is a daily reminder of the uncertainty of their sacrifice. These families have no shelter.
My sorrow for these brave families this Memorial Day will be magnified by the very real possibility that their son or brother will have ultimately died in vain. This is the real tragedy of the Iraq War – that, like Vietnam a generation ago, we may sacrifice the lives of so many brave young men for nothing. Our Congressional leaders show every single day that politics at home are more important than the success (and safety) of our soldiers in the field. The Democratic majority has spent the past five months tirelessly pushing an agenda to force us to leave Iraq precipitously. They can couch it in any patriotic language they wish, but the reality is that the Congress wants to admit defeat and resign Iraq to a future of civil unrest where it will serve as a base for extremism for years to come. The path that our weak-kneed leaders lay before us now is one only of retreat.
And so it seems more likely this Memorial Day that the grieving parents, brothers and children of those killed in Iraq may one day question the reason for their loss. They will try hard to make sense of their sacrifice for a country unwilling to hold up its end of the bargain. They will shake their head and wonder: If my kid could show so much courage in the face of evil, why couldn't you?