Memorial Day; We honor our fallen best, by defending the values they sacrificed all for.

TAT readers,

This evening while glancing through social media, I came across the account of an officer I had served with during one of my Afghanistan deployments. He had posted three photos of soldiers who we memorialize today. I knew two of these extraordinary young soldiers, one male and the other female. It’s been fourteen years since the combat operation that took both of their lives. Both knew the risks of not only their chosen vocation, but voluntarily stepped forward into the ranks of a command often referred to as, “the tip of the spear,” or the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). America loses something special with the loss of any of our troops, but these two were USSOCOM family whom I had served alongside deployed, albeit one only briefly.

This holiday, typically the official beginning of summer vacation, is more solemn for family, friends, communities and those of us who were the brothers and sisters-in-arms of those we honor. To be frank, strong and often painful emotions accompany that solemnity. Uniformly crisp white stones stretching across countless acres of our many national cemeteries, are so plentiful as appear as wheat on America’s Great Plains. Every stone marks the final resting place of someone who has sworn that sacred oath of service, to protect and defend our constitution. The stones above those lost during combat operations, are the ones we honor today and then on Veteran’s Day, we honor every single stone.

There is an aurora of honor and dignity that hangs thickly in the air, as one walks the endless rows of stones. Here at the national cemetery in San Antonio, I always find my way to my veteran parents’ stones, as well as the stone of the mother, of a close friend. There’s a poignant semblance of peace as one sits in the perfectly maintained grass while musing through old memories, both good and less so. Remembering those who’ve borne the battle, is how a nation heals from the losses incurred to defend and sustain our republic.

Those we honor every Memorial Day, gave their full measure of devotion in service to not only our nation but its founding principles as well. In the US military, officer and enlisted both swear to “protect and defend the constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.” We cannot honor their sacrifice fully, if we do not honor the principles they perished defending. We live at a point in our history where the very constitution that we swear to defend on the battlefield, is currently being trampled at home. The least that we can do for the legacy of those fallen in battle, is to honor our heroes and heroines by ensuring that we come together and protect the constitution they sacrificed their futures for.

I wish everyone both a thoughtful and enjoyable holiday weekend.

Paul