Thankful For Those Who Made The Ultimate Sacrifice

Another Memorial Day has come and gone and unfortunately many continue to view it as just another holiday.

Picnics, trips to the lake, a day off from work and the unofficial start to summer would be how some describe Memorial Day if asked. While those who served in the armed forces (along with their families) no doubt understand the importance of this day, too many still don’t pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we could enjoy those fun things I just mentioned.

In fact, author and political pundit Mark Dice (who has many great YouTube videos) did one of his “Man on the Street” question and answer videos concerning the meaning of Memorial Day. It was sad and downright pathetic to listen to some people (mostly young) stumble over their words as they tried to give an explanation on what Memorial Day was for.

Let me say here that I have never served in our armed forces. While the original Persian Gulf War began not long after I finished high school the draft (while still officially on the books) will in all likelihood never happen again.

Our military is currently so strong that a draft is really not necessary any more. There is no situation we cannot handle with our current armed forces. To be honest we could do away with any foe in a day if it was desired.

However, we still have casualties of war and there are still thousands of veterans living who survived the Vietnam War and of course the 58,000 we lost in the line of duty.

Often I’ve thought about whether I would have had the ability to have been on the front lines (or anywhere for that matter) if duty did call. I’m not going to put out false bravado and say I would have been eager to go. Quite frankly I would have been scared out of my mind.

The movie “Saving Private Ryan” has one of the most intense opening scenes in cinema history concerning war. The first half hour of the movie details the graphic Omaha Beach assault during the Normandy landings.

One caption I once saw concerning this incident read “Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared, it means you go anyway.”

In an era when people become offended by anyone who doesn’t agree with their point of view, it’s amazing to think what 18-year-olds did during World War II.

While there are many who do understand the importance of Memorial Day our country still does not do enough to assist living veterans. The same could be said for the families of those who have been killed in the line of duty.

The medical care for veterans is still nowhere near the level it should be. All those who served should receive free care (medical and mental) for life. Yet you never hear this mentioned by either of the two major political parties.

Hopefully in the future more people will truly appreciate what our veterans have done. We live our lives the way we want thanks to them. While it is noble that we have Memorial Day designed to honor those who laid down their lives for this country, we still need to do more. It shouldn’t take a day on the calendar to realize what all who have served have given us.

There’s nothing wrong with going to the beach or having cookouts on Memorial Day. I’m sure all those who gave their lives in battle would gladly take part of they could.

However, when we continue to have some millionaire athletes who want to disrespect our flag and at the same time disrespect our veterans then we have some major issues within our ranks.

We also need to continue to stress to our elected officials that action is more important than talk when it comes to our veterans. Until then we continue to disrespect all those who paid the ultimate price so we could live in the greatest country on this planet.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a long-time newspaper columnist. He welcomes feedback from readers of The Monticello News at pchrisbridges@gmail.com.