Memorial Day

I went back through my blog and was shocked - SHOCKED - to see that I had never actually written a Memorial Day post.  I could have sworn I had.  I know when I worked at First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace I wrote a yearly article about the day.  But somehow I have not done a Memorial Day blog post.  Time to remedy that oversight....

This weekend is the official opening of summer, according to most people.  It is a three day weekend filled with cookouts and beach trips and car races.  School is winding down or finished for most students in Florida.  Big movies are invading the multiplex.  So it is easy to forget the point of this weekend.  In America, we have three national holidays to recognize those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom: Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veteran's Day.  We also have two unofficial holidays that bring the same reflection - September 11 and December 7 - and several smaller days like Armed Forces Day and Flag Day.  You would think that our country would just be filled to the gills with appreciation for the military and other service groups.

But, somehow, it isn't that way.  In recent years there has been a resurgence in these feelings of thanks - largely due to 9/11 and the military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It wasn't too long ago, though, when it felt like Veteran's Day and Memorial Day just slipped by with nary a mention of what the point was.  It also was easy when the country went through a long stretch of time without a major military conflict.  It was normal to have a President with military service.  Anyone remember how damaging it was to Dan Quayle when he was labeled a "draft dodger?"  And that was one of the points against Bill Clinton, too, when he first ran.  Now, though, it is more uncommon to have a veteran running for President.  None of the major candidates over the last few elections, with the exception of Wesley Clark and John McCain, had military experience.  Well, John Kerry did, but that somehow came across as a bad thing due to what happened with it.  Obama, Bush, either Clinton, Romney, Palin, Huckabee, Gore, Edwards, Guiliani.  None of them were of a military background.  I'm not criticizing this - just stating facts.  Most of the military actions - Kosovo, Somalia, Panama, First Gulf War - were smaller in scope and not seen with the same eyes as the larger wars in the past.

I have always been more sensitive to this, having a father who was one of those who served.  He was a Marine and veteran of the Korean War.  He earned a Purple Heart for being wounded in battle.  He is buried in a Veteran's Cemetery in Vermont.  I have spoken of this several times in this blog.  This military service is one of the things I am the most proud of about my father - it always was.  I learned to appreciate the sacrifice he made.  It was easy to remember, since I saw it every day of his life.  He lost the top joint of each of the fingers of his right hand to the frostbite that set it after a bullet struck him.  He had scars on his neck and leg from shrapnel.  His hearing was damaged from explosions.  It was a living reminder.  You couldn't really look at him and NOT remember.  He rarely talked about it.  But we knew enough from the few conversations he had.

The First Gulf War took place when I was a junior in high school.  It was scary to me.  I had grown up with the spectre of the Cold War looming over everything.  There were nightly reports of the Soviet Union and the posturing between our countries.  When the USSR fell, it felt like there was going to be peace.  And then this war came along out of nowhere.  I remember the fear was that this war was going to drag out.  The last two conflicts were far from short - Vietnam and the Cold War.  I was about to hit the draft age.  There were several times my friends and I discussed this fact.  And it hit close to home when a friend of mine from Debate Club enlisted and was sent to Iraq.  He was dating the sister of one of my best friends - so we got updates frequently.  I remember making a badge with a yellow ribbon and his name and wearing it every day to school.  Then it was over before you could blink.  This kind of started a string of shorter, limited conflicts.  Budgets got cut since we weren't in a perpetual battle.  And the military slipped from view.

I firmly believe that our challenge, as Americans, is to never forget the past.  It isn't so we live there.  But it is to remember the lessons taught.  It is to be appreciative for what we have.  There are two major dangers that people groups face - forgetting history and feeling entitled.  That is how atrocities happen.  You forget the sacrifices made to get you where you are, the price that was paid.  And you begin to believe that somehow you deserve the freedoms and luxuries you have.  In my opinion, this is one of the biggest problems in America today - people feel they deserve a certain quality of life, a certain status, a certain set of goods.  So they get angry when they don't have those things.  And they blame everyone else for that.

There have been societies in the past that have had that mindset.  Ancient Greece.  Ancient Rome.  The Feudal Lords.  Even to some extent, WWII Germany.  What happened to those places?  They got lazy and complacent.  They were blind to the dangers around them.  They started to think they were invincible or too mighty to lose.  They got greedy and fat.  And they got defeated by someone else who were not looking at things through a falsely covered perspective.  I believe that gratitude goes a long way to keep your perspective right.  It requires you to look back at the lessons of history.  It makes you realize that there was a supreme cost to your situation.  It forces you to remember there are other people around you.  It reminds you that you are in someone's debt, that your good fortune came at a price.  We teach our children to say thank you when they get a present, right?  Why?  It is to show them that we should always show appreciation for the good things we have.  It helps us also appreciate the gift more when we remember that someone gave it to us.  There are some things I have received as gifts that I would have gotten rid of over the years based on the item itself - it had outlived its usefulness, for example.  But I kept it just because of who gave it to me.  It meant more because it was a gift.

The fact is, we as Americans did not get to where we are just because we are inherently awesome.  We didn't deserve it.  It wasn't just our destiny.  It took the sacrifice of literally millions of men and women.  And, once we achieved a land with freedom and opportunity, we had millions more people sacrifice themselves to protect that way of life.  I may not agree with everything the government does.  I may not like some of the decisions they are making or some of the steps they take.  I believe as a responsible engaged citizen that I am required to point out when there are things wrong.  I need to vote and debate.  I need to write my representatives.  I need to be informed.  That is part of my role.  But I am never going to get to the point where my frustration with the people in government is going to be mistaken for a hatred of the nation itself.  It drives me crazy when people threaten to leave America because they are angry over health care or social issues or gay marriage or whatever.  I do not believe that you can show me another country on earth that allow you to the freedoms you have in America.  There are not other places that give people the chance and ability to move themselves out of the status they were born into like the USA.  A person born into a regular average home can make money, get elected, fulfill their dreams.  They are not locked into a status forever.  I am a born again Christian and an ordained minister. I am allowed to type that into this blog without fear that someone is going to come bust down my door and haul me off to prison.  You may not like the fact that I believe that way.  You may detest my God and my religious beliefs and WISH someone would drag me off to prison.  But, the great thing about America, is that you can feel THAT way too.

We live in an amazing country.  And the only way that this place exists is because people fought and died to create it, maintain it, and defend it.  It is essential to remember that.  If not, we start to think that this is just the way things should be - that it is our right just because we were born here.  Earlier today, someone told me that when they complain about stuff, their mom will say, "It could be worse.  You could be deployed overseas for a year."  It is her way to remind this person that there are other people whose situation is harder than ours.  That is important to remember - it gives the right perspective.

That is why I think Memorial Day is SO vital to our country.  It forces us to remember those people who are serving in our military to protect us.  It makes us think back through history - the good and the bad - to make sure we learned the lessons well.  It gives us a chance to express our gratitude to those people who sacrifice their lives, their families, their safety for ours.  "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."  Yes, that came from John 15:13 in the Bible, but it just as much applies to the members of our military.  They sacrifice their lives for us - how can you top that?

So I challenge you this holiday weekend, in between the hot dog and the burger, express some gratitude.  Offer a prayer of safety for our troops overseas.  If you know someone who is serving, send them a letter.  Contact their spouse and see if there is anything you can do for them.  At the very least, thank THEM for allowing their loved one to serve.  If you can, make a donation to the USO or to a Veteran's support organization.  Make something to take to the veterans at a local nursing home.  If you see someone in uniform, pay for their meal or coffee or groceries.  If you own a company, give a military discount.  If you work at a company that offers a military discount (most of them do, if you check), make sure that you give that to your customers.  At the very least, be thankful.  It is quite certain they deserve that.

True Honor

This past Saturday, we observed the ninth anniversary of the horrific events of September 11, 2001.  It is good that we have these patriotic days scattered throughout our calendar (Memorial Day, July 4, 9/11, Veteran's Day).  Because, honestly, if it wasn't for those day, we probably wouldn't give a second thought to all the soldiers out there daily fighting on our behalf.  I know that there is a great deal of argument over the rightness of the current military conflicts.  And this is hardly the place to engage in a battle over that - and I am hardly the person to begin that fight.  I am not a warmongering ultra-patriot that will defend every decision the USofA makes.  I am also not one of those people who appear to hate America so bad you wonder why they live here.

But I do think that as citizens of this country we have certain obligations.  We need to vote and be active in the political process.  We need to be educated and hold our government officials responsible for their actions and decisions.  We need to obey the laws - even if you think are moronic.  And we should show respect and gratitude for those people who have decided to put their lives in danger to defend others.  Realistically, none of us are immediate danger due to the situation in Iraq or Afghanistan.  But the concept of defending freedom is still at play.  And, perhaps, the service by these brave men and women of our military is even more admirable (and difficult) than in years past BECAUSE we are so unsure of the struggle they are fighting in.

When my dad fought in Korea, we had just come off a World War - where our freedoms were legitimately threatened.  America was at risk.  With that in mind, Korea was a legitimate threat as well.  We had seen what happened when the Nazis ran without control across Europe.  It was easy to see the Communists doing the same thing.  Volunteering under those circumstance was an easier choice - still not easy by any stretch of the imagination.  Now, though, these battles seem so far away.  The terrorist attacks of 9/11 showed us that the forces over there could hurt us.  But, I fear, we are starting to get complacent in our safety and security again.  That leads to forgetting the soldiers fighting.

A second major problem with our respect for soldiers is that we have this false version of a warrior projected through media and entertainment industries.  We have Jack Bauer, Jason Bourne, The Expendables, Batman.  There are these super-human monsters that can withstand vicious attacks and somehow dip into a reservoir of mega-strength to fight back.  I'm guilty of it too.  We've been watching Chuck on DVD this summer (along with Burn Notice).  In this world, spies get shot, stabbed, electrocuted, hit with tranquilizer darts and then hop up and keep fighting.  In one Chuck episode, a spy got shot with FOUR tranq darts before he was out.  In another one, a spy got shot in the back through a window with a shotgun and popped up a few hours later fighting.  He also ingested a deadly poison pill and woke up a few hours laters, got slammed between two massive metal sliding doors, and got beat up multiple times.  But he kept on fighting at every turn.  Another spy went through three severe beatings, got shot, and got shot.  But he never wavered - even at one point taking out nine guys to escape torture.

This is not realistic.  Last week, I was reading Gregg Easterbrook's excellent Tuesday Morning Quarterback article on ESPN.  In it, he bemoaned the number of hit man movies out there - probably eclipsing the actual number of hit men on Earth.  These people are able to kill without thinking and rarely get hurt.  Later on in his article, he had a letter from a med student in Pittsburgh who talked about this same trend.  He said people are frequently stunned at how painful bullets actually are.  They will be in horrible pain and telling their doctors, "This really really hurts.  I wasn't expecting that."  They see the heroes on tv get popped in the shoulder and shrug it off.  That is not realistic.  Bullets hurt.  They kill.  Our realization of that has been so numbed over the years, as we watched The Terminator have an entire clip of bullets pulled out of his back, that we don't even understand just what is war is truly like.

Then you read an article like this one on CNN.  (Yeah, I read CNN frequently.  It is the best formatted news site.  Sue me.)  This soldier, Salvatore Giunta, is the first living recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.  There are only 3446 people who have been given this medal in the 234 years of our country.  In order to receive a Medal of Honor, you have to distinguish yourself in an extreme way in battle.  By reading those statistics, you see it is a very rare award.  Going through what led to past recipients receiving the award online, you see some truly amazing stories of bravery.  Here are some of those brief stories (from The Congressional Medal of Honor Society site:

• In 2003, Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith distinguished himself near Baghdad International Airport. With disregard for his own safety, Sgt. Smith manned an exposed mounted machine gun allowing for the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers and the death of as many 50 enemy soldiers. Sgt. Smith was mortally wounded at this time. 
• In 1965, Captain Ed Freeman flew his unarmed helicopter to aid a trapped battalion.  They were pinned down and he faced heavy enemy fire on each trip.  Other aid, rescue, and medical evac helicopters refused to enter the area due to the intensity of the enemy fire.  Captain Freeman flew FOURTEEN separate missions into this zone - evacuating wounded men, providing ammo and supplies.  It is estimated he rescued thirty seriously wounded soldiers in his missions.
• Lt. John Finn was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the 1941 attack.  He secured and manned a .50 caliber machine gun in an exposed part of the parking lot, which was continually being strafed by enemy machine gun fire.  He was wounded multiple times, but refused to leave his post.  His actions had a major impact on the enemy planes (hard to estimate how much - but obvious that it did).  Even after he was forced to seek medical aid, he returned to supply and assist returning US planes.  

So, not just your basic, run of the mill heroism.  These recipients went far above and beyond the call of duty.  What about Staff Sergeant Giunta?  In 2007, his unit was attacked by Taliban soldiers.  He, of course, says he was just doing his job - a normal soldier doing his job.  Normal soldiers doing their jobs don't receive the Medal of Honor.  In reality, he was extraordinary.  The unit was returning to base when the Taliban attacked with AK-47s, large machine guns, and rocket launchers.  Several of his fellow soldiers went down.  So he charged the Taliban, throwing grenades at them and shooting his weapon.  He retrieved one of his fellow soldiers and dragged him to safety.  Then he noticed one of the wounded was missing.  He raced over the hill where the Taliban had been staging their attack and saw his fellow soldier being dragged away by two of the enemy.  He pursued, even though he was now completely cut off from his unit.  He killed one of the enemy and wounded another.  Then he sat there in the war zone and began providing first aid to his friend, who had been shot six times, until he was evacuated.  (The friend later died from the wounds.)  During all of this, Giunta was hit twice himself - one hit his body armor, one destroyed the weapon strapped to his back.  Their quick action drove off the Taliban that day, and saved lives.

When I read that story, it just made me think about how I would have responded in that situation.  The truth is, I never would have been in that situation.  I have never even considered military service.  I don't disrespect the military.  Quite the opposite.  I love the military and respect those who serve.  Perhaps the reason I never thought about joining was because I knew I couldn't do it justice.  I am amazed at those who serve and sacrifice.  I never want to become numb to the risk they face.  I don't want some goofy spy show to make me believe their efforts were not amazing.  There may have been a part of you that, when you read the account of Giunta's heroism, was not amazed.  I know at first that was my response.  "He saved a guy and another guy - shot some people."  But I was comparing it to an unrealistic scene where Chuck Norris takes out an entire squadron.  In real life, people don't go charging into the enemy, flinging grenades.  They don't race off alone over a hill into an entrenched location.  They don't run and man a machine gun and angrily fire away at fighter planes and soldiers.  They don't fly helicopters time and again into heavily defended jungles.  If that happened every day, there would be more than 3,446 Medal of Honor recipients.

I hope that we can take a moment and think about that.  Think about what these guys and girls are going through on a daily basis.  And it is more than just the battles.  They are far from home, missing out on time with their families, missing out on the things we take for granted.  And it is all for people they don't know and will never meet.  At least for today, don't take them for granted or view their sacrifice through the filter of Hollywood.  If you know a soldier or their family, thank them.  Give a small donation to the USO.  Volunteer at your local VA Hospital.  Or just spend a few minutes praying for them.  They deserve that level of honor.

Veteran's Day

I did not think that I had ever written about this topic on ye olde blogge. But to be sure, I strapped on my lighted helmet and went digging through the dusty, cobweb laden archives of Blogville. Alas, I realized that really had - shockingly - never written at all about Veteran's Day or Memorial Day. I know I did once back at First Baptist Temple Terrace in a piece that ran on the back of the bulletin. Hmm. Well, I guess I should remedy that.

Today is Veteran's Day. It is the day when we are supposed to express our gratitude for those men and women who helped defend our country over the decades. Or, as most American children call it, that day that we get off from school right before Thanksgiving. Veteran's Day almost was a lost holiday a few years ago - until the current efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq began. I remember it coming and going without much of a peep. That's why I wrote that article at FBCTT for Memorial Day one year. No one else was doing it and I thought it needed to be done.

Veteran's Day and Memorial Day are very important to me. As some of you know, my father served as a Marine. He fought in the Korean War and was wounded. He carried those wounds every day of his life after that. Now he is buried in a beautiful Veteran's Cemetery in Vermont. I think of all the things my father did in his life, the thing I was the most proud of was his service to his country. He was always a good worker and made his way up the ladder at the Post Office. But none of that compared to the fact that he was a soldier. He had a Purple Heart.

He never talked much about the war. He would sometimes tell stories about things - usually with the enhancements that made him such an amazing storyteller. But it was hard to get information about Korea out of him. I remember doing a paper in ninth grade on the War, hoping to use him as a source. He didn't want to do it. I think it was too much. My father had that tough streak, refusing to admit fear. And I think that Korea was just months of pure fear. I can see why. I have David Halberstam's amazing Korean War book - The Coldest Winter. Halberstam is one of my favorite writers, but I can only read small chunks at a time. The reality of that horrific war comes through so clearly that it is hard to stomach - knowing my dad was there makes it even harder.

Sometimes it was hard to match the image of my father as I knew him with the picture of him as a young Marine. Sure, the temper part I could picture. But he didn't seem a soldier type. He didn't run his home like some former military guys - where they treat their kids like little soldiers. In fact, the mental picture I had of a soldier seemed almost opposite of my dad. But, the facts don't lie. His Marine picture sat on our shelf. The Marine Corps memorabilia was all over the house. There was the Purple Heart pins, the old patches and awards. The newspaper clippings. And there was his hand.

Any time I doubted, I just had to look at his hand. When he landed in Korea, he got there in the summer. As he said, "When I got there, it was so hot that the jeeps wouldn't run right because they overheated. When I left, it was so cold the jeeps wouldn't run right because they froze up." He landed at the Pusan Perimeter, when the South Korean forces were about to be run into the ocean. As the US assisted Korean forces, they marched further and further North, finally crossing into China. At the battle for the Chosin Reservoir, the Marines found themselves fighting both North Korean and Chinese forces. They were outnumbered at least 8 to 1. This is where my father was wounded. In the extreme cold, he was shot in the hand. The below freezing temperatures quickly affected his fingers. By the time he got to a surgeon, he had to have the top joint of each finger amputated.

So he had this hand without fingernails, just nubs on the top. There were some things that he had trouble doing - like opening some bottles and packages. But there was a constant testimony of just how great his sacrifice was. I was proud of that hand. I was proud of what he had done. My father had answered the call and put himself on the line for others. I'm not sure why that was such a big deal to me. Maybe it was because that valiant quality was not very obvious by the time I came along. He wasn't a man who defended the weak or protected others. In fact, there were many times when he took advantage of the weak and failed to protect those very people he should have. He wasn't a hero - but he had been once upon a time.

That is the thing about soldiers. They are just ordinary people. And they are asked to perform in a way that is the exact opposite of how a normal person lives. Instead of fleeing danger, they are supposed to go towards it and neutralize it. Instead of putting their own interests and survival first, they are supposed to defend nameless faces at their own risk. We are told not to allow violence to run our lives, but they have to live a violent life. We are told not to fight, but they have to fight every day. We are told not to kill, but they must accept that killing is a fact of their mission. They have to put their own lives on hold so we don't have to.

I have friends that are serving right now. A man that was a student at USF when I worked there is now a chaplain overseas. His wife is expecting their second child next week. He won't be home until the baby is a month old. A woman that was a student at USF when I worked there is now serving in the Army in the Middle East. Her husband, another former student, is living alone down in Melbourne, FL while she serves. Another former student has watched his father pulled into Reserve Duty as a logistics officer. What was once a "one weekend a month" position is now a "going on eight years" job.

I couldn't do it. I know I couldn't. That is why I admire them so. They do what I can't and won't - and they do it so I don't have to. They fight for me, protecting what I hold so dear. Whether or not you agree with the US presence anywhere in the world, you have to appreciate what our soldiers do each day. And as we found out in Fort Hood last week, being a soldier doesn't mean you are only in danger when deployed. Being a soldier means you are always a target - a representative of our country. You take a risk every day.

So what do we do on Veteran's Day and Memorial Day and July 4? I think that we need to make a special effort on those days to go out of our way to make those who served feel special. I wrote emails and Facebook posts this morning, thanking those serving. Make sure your kids understand exactly what today means. My kids know that today we pray for those who are fighting. They know about our friends overseas and ask about them. They draw pictures for them and pray for them. But we do that all the time. I point out soldiers (and police officers) to the kids and tell them we should thank them. I remember when I worked at Apple and we had a military person come in. I would always thank them - and make sure they got the military discount even if they didn't ask for it. They were always kind of surprised. But I did it every time, because they deserve it.

It is kind of like how we should be thankful every day, but on Thanksgiving make a very visible and vocal demonstration of our thanks. I think that is how we should be with our fighting men and women. Every day we should be appreciative. But on those few special days, go out of your way. Pay for their dinner if you see them in a restaurant. Applaud them when you see them. Send them a card or an email. How would you treat a person who saved your life, especially on the anniversary of the day it happened? Maybe that would be a good start. Because they did, you know. They saved your life and are saving it every day.

John Scanlon. Heather Schmidt. Glen Kitzman. Matthew Creviston. Buddy Joca. Stephen Orf. Cobie Lee. Jack Stultz. Mark Flach. Sherri Flach. Kevin Sheridan. Larry Cortez. Steve Vaughan. Sam Glenn. Scott Evans. Stanley Puckett. Dad. And any other that I don't remember or know right now. Thank you so much for all you have done and are doing. One day doesn't seem like enough to say that.

Jacksonville - Wednesday - July 4, 2007

Well, we are finally back in the Sunshine State - and looking at all the standing water due to rain. After a full day of flying and visiting two of the busiest airports in the USofA, we made it back. It was a sweet sight to see our little boy running to hug us, and our little girl zonked out on the bench. (We got her smiles this morning.) All in all, it was a fun trip, but we are sooo glad to be home. Well, we aren't really home yet. We will be home tomorrow to Orlando - for now.

Right after we get back we have to find a new house. Our current rental is going to be put up for sale in August, so we have to find a new place. A lot went into that decision. We tried to look into buying a house. Even though now is a great time in the market, it is not a great time for us to pull the trigger on that move. Defender has just gotten somewhat financially stable, and I don't want to go too far out on a limb. That means going back to renting - grrrr. But it gives us some freedom to relocate to Seminole County, which will give us better schools for Josiah and a shorter drive to, uh, everything. That search begins immediately upon return to Central Florida. We are praying that we are able to find something fast that will work with us as far as all the stuff you have to pay up front.

July will be pretty much dominated by the move. August will be dominated by Defender events. We have two major ones, and a couple of others possibly floating around. School will start at the end of August, and then our new arrival will show up the end of September or first of October. It will certainly be busy in the Staples' world. But for now, we get to enjoy Independence Day.

Anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about our military. My dad was a Marine in the Korean War, earning a Purple Heart. It is the thing about him I am the most proud of. I still am drawn to books about that war. I also was a History Ed major in college, so I love history - especially military history. I am a Reagan junkie. I love the patriotic holidays, because they allow our country to stop bickering about political junk long enough to actually show an ounce of gratitude to the people who secured the freedoms that EVERYONE enjoys. I have made it a point of explaining Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and July 4 to my kids - and Josiah will tell you why we celebrate today. Every time we pass a soldier I point it out, so Josiah will recognize that the person deserves respect.

Out in California, we saw a lot of military presence. We passed Fort Pendleton three times - the Marine's Pacific training and launching grounds. It got me a little bit, since that was where my dad launched from. We also saw the huge Naval center in San Diego, and drove through their base to get to the lighthouse. We also passed the old and new Naval hospitals there and I couldn't help wondering if my dad went through there on his return. In Irvine, we went by an enormous National Guard facility with gigantic hangers. When we landed in San Diego, there were Marines everywhere - boarding planes and arriving. Plus there were some active duty soldiers going on leave on our flight to Atlanta and Jax.

I personally want to say that I don't want a day to go by that I do not thank God for those men and women - and to pray for their safety. We all have different opinions about Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere else. But those people sacrifice their lives to defend us and others - even when that puts them into a politically volatile environment back home. We need to remember them and thank God for them. Do little things to show you care. Give some money to a veteran's group, volunteer at a VA hospital, walk up to a soldier and thank them. Do something. They are. And if you know someone personally serving, do not EVER forget to lift them up with your words and prayers. Stephen Orf. Buddy Joca. Matthew Creviston. Thanks.