Memorial Day 2015
“Where Would We Be Without Them?”
On this Memorial Day 2015, we must ask ourselves a very important question:
“Where would we be without our Veterans?” What if they had concluded it was
too windy, too wet, and too uncomfortable to venture onto the beaches of
Normandy in June 1944? Gratefully, they didn’t ask such a self-serving question - they were there, they went across the beaches, and they unhinged an entire
continent from an evil empire, they were “all in” … on behalf of future
generations. As a result of their efforts, and the continuing efforts of our troops
and families of today, we remain the Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave.
Dr. Ben Carson says, “If you want to be free, you must be brave.” America
remains the Land of the Free because of our brave veterans who gave their very
lives for the future of America.
Perhaps a few mental snapshots will bring this sober remembrance into better
focus for all of us:
 “Blades of Grass and Pure White Stones,” the title of a song written by
Senator Orrin Hatch, commemorates Arlington Cemetery and the countless
rows of grave markers, representative of fields around the world where our
nation’s noble warriors have been laid to rest. At Arlington this Memorial
Day weekend, every grave will have an American flag, carefully emplaced
by many volunteers and fellow warriors, and over watched by the measured
foot beat of the U.S. 3d Infantry “Old Guard”-- an act of utmost honor,
appreciation, and reverence.
 Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address:
“… It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work
which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for
us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they
gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that
these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall
have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
 From the Apostle Paul, “The time of my departure has come. I have
fought the good fight. I have finished the race and I have kept the
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Memorial Day 2015
faith.” On Memorial Day, we honor “the good fight” of each of our faithful
fallen warriors.
 From the great Roman orator Cicero, “Poor is the nation that has no
heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes fails to remember and
honor them.” May we honor those who fight, bleed, and die for us and
future generations. Our nation is at true peril when we fail to remember
those who have made it all possible.
 For the family who has lost a loved one in the military, every day is
Memorial Day. Perhaps that should be true for all of us.
The message on Memorial Day 2015 is simple: We as a nation honor those who
have paid the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. We pray for God’s abundant
comfort for those loved one’s left behind, including those fellow warriors saddled
with the guilt of survival. We thank, affirm and pray for those who serve today,
along with their committed families.
Where would we be without them? Gratefully, we don’t have to ask that
question. They have always been there for us.
Now … we must be there for them, America.
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