Remembering The Fallen
We don’t honor our heroes anymore; or rather, we do, but the wrong ones. We idolize rock stars (yes, me, too; have you read my posts on Bono?), sports stars, celebrity heiresses, and other similar non-entities, but can you name a single hero of the Iraq War? Peter Collier laments this state of affairs:
Once we knew who and what to honor on Memorial Day: those who had given all their tomorrows, as was said of the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, for our todays. But in a world saturated with selfhood, where every death is by definition a death in vain, the notion of sacrifice today provokes puzzlement more often than admiration. We support the troops, of course, but we also believe that war, being hell, can easily touch them with an evil no cause for engagement can wash away. And in any case we are more comfortable supporting them as victims than as warriors.
Former football star Pat Tillman and Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham were killed on the same day: April 22, 2004. But as details of his death fitfully emerged from Afghanistan, Tillman has become a metaphor for the current conflict–a victim of fratricide, disillusionment, coverup and possibly conspiracy. By comparison, Dunham, who saved several of his comrades in Iraq by falling on an insurgent’s grenade, is the unknown soldier. The New York Times, which featured Abu Ghraib on its front page for 32 consecutive days, put the story of Dunham’s Medal of Honor on the third page of section B.
Not long ago I was asked to write the biographical sketches for a book featuring formal photographs of all our living Medal of Honor recipients. As I talked with them, I was, of course, chilled by the primal power of their stories. But I also felt pathos: They had become strangers–honored strangers, but strangers nonetheless–in our midst.
…We impoverish ourselves by shunting these heroes and their experiences to the back pages of our national consciousness. Their stories are not just boys’ adventure tales writ large. They are a kind of moral instruction. They remind of something we’ve heard many times before but is worth repeating on a wartime Memorial Day when we’re uncertain about what we celebrate. We’re the land of the free for one reason only: We’re also the home of the brave.
I don’t like playing politics with the memories of dead soldiers; this post is not about whether you support our war in Iraq or think it’s a huge mistake. Regardless of the correctness of the decisions that lead our soldiers into war, we can all acknowledge that there have been incredible acts of sacrifice, bravery, and heroism.
Today we salute the memories of those who have given their lives (not lost them – given them, through their willingness to serve, for all men and women in combat know there is a chance they will have to sacrifice all). May we reflect on their gift not just this one day, but every day…
Mark, I don’t want to wade into politics either (and I think there’s plenty of room to do so given this post, but I’m going to just clamp it shut), but I don’t think your lead-in is quite fair. Can anyone really name a single hero of World War II or Vietnam or any modern war? Sure, we can name folks like Patton and Eisenhower, but we can also name Tommy Franks and David Petraeus. It’s been a long time since war was about the individuals on the field. They’re all unknown soldiers now.
Just to add to that, having just watched the last episode of Band of Brothers again, the individuals from WWII that I can name came not from the history books, but from the TV. Granted, Band of Brothers is an amazingly well-produced bit of television, and very reverent of just about everything done by the men of Easy Company, while at the same time not glossing over the ugly sides of combat, but the point still stands. Not until such stories are presented in easily digestible pieces, or in slick, well-produced dramatizations, are we likely to remember the individuals as individuals, rather than as members of the force at large.
Memorial Day 2007 – The Blogosphere Remembers…
Cox & Forkum
I’ll update this a post a few times today. Other blogging will be light or saved for Tuesday. Feel free to send links to your posts or interesting Memorial Day finds.
In Training
There is nothing in this world like a s…
Ryan and Fargus,
On Memorial Day I remember both of my Grandfathers who fought in WWII, several uncles who fought in Vietnam and one cousin who fought in Desert Storm. You are correct. If you are looking to mass media for individuals you wont find many but if you look to your own family, friends and neighbors you will find heros to honor.
Well said…
Again, honoring my cousin:
Gerald Thomas Parmeter KIA May 24, 1968 Quang Ngai, Repubic of South Vietnam
http://tanaya.net/cgi-bin/vmw.cgi?39489
Comrades,
I’ll name one: Lance Corporal Nick Santos, USMC. Wounded May 1967 during Operation Union II, Republic of Vietnam. Struck in the upper right arm, rendering it useless, he none the less refused evacuation until others were brought off, continuing to bring fire upon enemy forces and covering his wounded men.
Only after he was so weakened by loss of blood as to become ineffective, did his Platoon Sergeant drag him off, and assist in loading him into the dust-off. He persitantly demanded that his Platoon Sergeant check his shirt pocket to make certain that a small plastic bag with folded documents was still there and intact. It was. They were.
Lance Corporal Santos underwent several rounds of surgery and months of rehabilitation to regain sufficient use of his arm and hands. His upper arm, shattered into 16 fragments, was resectioned and he lost about 2″ of total length.
Those papers of his? they were his citizenship application papers, signed and ready to be submitted. Nick wasn’t even a citizen of the US. He wasn’t a draftee either. He completed an engineering degree in the states as a part of a foreign-exchange program. His education had been paid for the the US and other agencies, and he owed no one anything.
Yet, he felt the need to do something to repay this great nation for the gifts it had given him. Therefor, he chose to enlist. In the Marines. At the hight of the ramp-up in Vietnam. While serving, he made a choice to aplly for citizenship, and so he did. Shortly after returning stateside, Nick became a citizen.
He’s retired now. He put his degree to good use as an aeronautical engineer with Lockheed.
Not many know Nick. Fewer still know of his service, or his woundeds. I do. My family was Nick’s sponsors. He was the brother I never had, the older kid who taught me a great deal about worth, about priorities, about life.
Nick’s story is very much the story of America. Regardless of where you come from, how poor you are, you can reach for the stars here, and sometimes, you actually grab them. Nothing we ever do is without danger, or pain. No one is guarenteed success. Here, however, we get the chance to fail, to rise up from that experience and try again. We get the chance to set our own goals.
This day, I remember Nick, and all the others like him who have looked around this great nation of ours and understoond that, yes, there really is something here worth risking your life to protect.
Respects,
Understood and agreed, Gwedd. I should note that I also respect the brave service of both of my grandfathers, my uncle, and my stepfather, among others. My point was well restated by CKS. We look for individuals in an individual context, but Peter Collier’s point is flawed in the expectation that we should bring these personal stories out to the forefront over everything else. I know and respect that those stories, even though they might not garner national attention, are respected and cherished by the people that were close to those involved, just as I respect and honor the service of my own family members, even though their names aren’t known to the throngs.
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Josiah Schmidt
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Mark, thanks for the opportunity to remember:
my great grandfather Claire Sperbeck, USN, WWI; my grandfather John F. Sperbeck, USN, WWII, USS Texas; my dad who is still with us and fought in Vietnam, and all of the wonderful veterans and their families at thee USS Texas Veterans Association. Thank you.
Gwedd you are speaking of my father. Were you there when he was injured? He doesn’t remember much after he was injured. Is there any way to contact you? Or you can contact me. Julie.sants@gmail.com