The Type of Man We Honor Today
Today, Memorial Day, we honor those “who have died in our nation’s service.” They gave their lives that we might be free.
Regretting that we do not remember military heroes as much as we once did, Peggy Noonan (showing once again her relationship to the goddess Athena who inspired courage and appreciated valor in Greek warriors) believes a correction is in order:
It’s good to remember war is hell. But when we removed the warrior, we removed something intensely human, something ancestral and stirring, something celebrated naturally throughout the long history of man. Also it was ungrateful: They put themselves in harm’s way for us.
She then detailed the deeds of three of the bravest of the brave. Alvin York, a hero of World War I (and later, the subject of the Hollywood movie Sergeant York), Audie Murphy who served in World War II (and later a Hollywood star) and Chuck Boyd, who fought in Vietnam (“the only former POW of the era to go on to become a four-star general.“) Those brave men, like many noble warriors, don’t talk much about their deeds or their sufferings. For them, the doing is their duty. And victory their reward.
Those we honor today could not savor that victory, even as they anticipated it through their accomplishments. We who did not sacrifice as did as they, or even as much as those who return, enjoy the fruits of those accomplishments.
They cannot speak from beyond the grave, but perhaps if they could, they might sound a bit like this man, Frank Buckles, the last survivor of the supposed “War to End All Wars,” World War I:
Cassy Fiano who drew my attention to this video observes that Buckle “served because his country needed him. He didn’t want or expect anything back.” Many men fell who served as Buckles did: because our country needed them. Is is those great men we remember today.
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Those are the men and women who literally saved the world on more than one occasion.
The Military Channel is going to have some good programs on today. I’ve seen Ghosts of Bataan and highly recommend it. Medal of Honor @ 2100 ET looks promising.
http://military.discovery.com/tv-schedules/daily.html?date=20090525.145
Comment by ThatGayConservative — May 25, 2009 @ 5:04 am - May 25, 2009
It is hard to believe that there is only one surviving United States Veteran of World War I. I remember being in High School in 1968 during a ceremony that celebrated the end of WWI with veterans of that conflict speaking.
Comment by Swampfox — May 25, 2009 @ 9:51 pm - May 25, 2009
Pardon me, but I couldn’t help seeing the Twitter column to the right of this article. the top post bags on the President for playing golf on Memorial day. Then just below it, is a post about a Golden Girls marathon. huh? Are true patriots frittering away Memorial Day by watching re-runs of a 20 year old sitcom?
By the way, in his 8 years as president, did our last president ever play golf on a Memorial Day? Or how about the pledge he made to give up golf (to support the troops, which seemed to coincide with some muscle problems)?I’m just curious because this appears to now be a hot topic.
Comment by Kevin — May 26, 2009 @ 12:03 am - May 26, 2009
Is that all you can do is to bait us, Kevin? Attaching such a comment to a non-political post where we honor the type of men we should all be remembering. And where I did not attack any Democrat nor even praise any Republican politician?
Why not just honor the dead in this thread and leave your snark for another post?
Comment by GayPatriotWest — May 26, 2009 @ 12:51 am - May 26, 2009
Say No Class Kevin, did you happen to observe when that tweet was posted?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — May 26, 2009 @ 1:05 am - May 26, 2009
[...] The Type of Man We Honor Today [...]
Pingback by GayPatriot » Liberals Who Insist on Politicizing Everything — May 26, 2009 @ 5:05 am - May 26, 2009
The United States Military,
Fighting for the right of Kevin to be an ass since 1776.
Comment by The Livewire — May 26, 2009 @ 6:46 am - May 26, 2009
my point is that the original post was such a non-topic to begin with…..
Comment by Kevin — May 26, 2009 @ 9:36 pm - May 26, 2009
#8 – You never have a point, Kevvie. So quit acting as if you do right now.
And if the original post was “non-topic” as you posited, then why the fcuk are you commenting about it in the first place?
You are a walking ad for making abortion legal. And I’m pro-life.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — May 27, 2009 @ 11:03 am - May 27, 2009