Teach your children well

 

Never forget

As we mark the 30^th anniversary of the end of Desert Storm aka The First Gulf War—may we live in a world without numbered wars—in a land more conflicted than ever, let us all honor the sacrifice of those who fought and died for America.

The following editorial appeared in the May23,2007 issue of the Goochland Courier.

Teach your children well.

Memorial Day is not just an excuse for a three-day weekend.

In the halcyon days before that perfect Tuesday in September almost six years ago, it seemed like the meaning of Memorial Day was fading into history.

Then the world changed in a heartbeat. Once again, we were at war.

Our sons, and now our daughters, fight and die far from home so that we can enjoy a day at the beach in peace and safety.

Come to the Courthouse Green next Monday and bring your children. Introduce them to real American heroes, the ones who came home but will never forget the horrors of war, or their buddies who never returned.

Men of the Greatest Generation, who, when there were mere boys, left farm and factory to protect our way of life n foreign fields. Men whose childhoods were blighted by the hardships of Great Depression answered without hesitation when their country called. Some came home, some remain boys forever, their blood watering the beaches of Normandy or of the beaches of a thousand nameless Pacific Islands.

Teach them about the boys who went to Korea to fight for the American way in frozen hells like the Chosin Reservoir in a forgotten war that could erupt again tomorrow.

Don’t forget the kids who answered their country’s call to fight and die in Viet Nam. They fought in steamy jungles on the other side of the world while classmates schemed to avoid the draft. These men don’t talk about their war much. Their homecoming was greeted with indifference and disgust. This must never happen again.

Tell them too about the soldiers who fought to free Kuwait, and battled in places like Somalia, Beirut, and the Balkans.

Teach them that past and present members of every branch of the armed forces who go in harm’s way to protect our way of life must be treated with respect and love and gratitude.

Teach your children about the chair draped in black with a single red rose reserved for those whose fate remains unknown. Tell them that we must never rest until they come home.

Teach your children that war is not all glamour and glory but fear, boredom, and deprivation.

Introduce your children to real heroes who know first hand the real cost of freedom, but never take credit for their sacrifice.

Teach your children to respect the flag and honor those who protect our nation. Teach your children well.”

What a difference fourteen years makes. Back then, the 9/11 attacks were fresh in memory and the unity they spawned strong. Everyone loved America.

As we crawl into back into the daylight after more than a year afraid to leave our homes or interact with other people, we find that the world has changed, not for the better. For the second consecutive year, Covid restrictions prevented an in person Memorial Day observance, traditionally held in front of the venerable Goochland Courthouse with prayers, patriotic music, and remembrance of our war dead.

Everyone is angry and distrustful. Media outlets, which had a captive audience during the Covid lockdown, worked to convince us that America is bad, patriotism is evil. Civil unrest rocked our world. Free speech is under attack and far too many groups, whose existence was enabled by our founding documents, want to rewrite, or discard the Constitution.

Is this what our war dead gave their lives for?

May God Bless America because she needs it now more than ever.