Memorial Day - Past, Present and Future

(Published on Memorial Day 2018)

A couple of weeks ago, as one of my son was looking at my father's (his grandfather's) United States Air Force picture when he served during the Vietnam War, he said to me, "Abba, I want to be a soldier when I grow up." Interestingly enough, my own father, who served in the U.S. Armed Services, also had the same aspirations as a child around his grandson's age. He also grew up seeing pictures of his ancestors in military uniforms as both his father and grandfather served in the armed services of their countries. But the very next week, my other son, who did not hear his brother's comment, said something out of the blue, "Abba, I don't to be a soldier when I grow up...because I don't want to die." My father was one of the lucky ones. He enlisted in Vietnam as a medic but was sent to serve in Spain. The class before and after his class was sent to Vietnam. It is the double-edged sword of service to our country - service and glory; loss and sacrifice.

Over Shabbat, we were at services at another synagogue and the rabbi spoke about how Memorial Day was growing up. Every house had an American flag in front of it; every father had served in World War II. He asked all the Veterans to stand up - and only one person in the congregation rose.
So many of us living today have very little connection to soldiers who have lost their lives in the service. Close to 7,000 American servicemen and women have lost their lives since the wars that we are still fighting began in 2001. Although it is a staggering number, many of us are separated from them as we have a volunteer army.

On this Memorial Day, I'm grateful for those who have served, even more grateful for those whose lives were taken from them in service to our country, and to us, the past, present and future citizens of the United States of America. And on this Memorial Day, I remember their families who have family dinners with empty seats, and worlds that could not be created because of the loss of those young men and women.

On this Memorial Day, I take the late Andy Rooney's words to heart. Rooney, who served in the Army in World War II, said, "I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future." May we live in a day when my children can look forward to serving their country without the fear of death.


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