Sunday, May 29, 2011

We Need To Remember - Memorial Day

My Dear Friends,

Tomorrow I will form up a Rifle Squad of 7 American Legion members as an Honor Guard. We will be at the Railroad Flat Cemetery at 10am to practice our salute to the Veterans buried there. We do this because we understand too well that all give some and some give all.

It will be a small gathering, probably like it was last year, maybe only a half dozen or more locals. But even if there was just one who shows up, it is a victory! 

A victory if only one shows up? How is it a victory? Well, if only one person shows up, it shows that someone has not forgotten to honor the sacrifice that was made for them. And friends, to remember is a victory. To forget is a defeat the likes of which America can never recover from.

I believe we possess the blessings of God, the blessings of freedom, by paying a heavy price for it.

We stay vigilant. We stand guard when others sleep. We fight daily in places near and far. We watch our children and pray that they will share in what we have had. And yes, the whole time we do this, we remember those who have paid the ultimate price of giving their lives in defense of our America.

Our lives are richer because we remember those who came before us. We remember those who have died. We remember members of our families who went off the war and never returned. For the families it's sorrow and heartache.

For Veterans, some of us remember friends as if they never passed and are still today cemented in our minds never to have aged. Some are still 18, 19, 20 years old, almost 40 years later. And like the families who lost them, they have kept their youth in our dreams, our thoughts, our hearts.

Yes, we remember those who have passed on. And for me, I still keep in mind that many still suffer daily both physically and emotionally. Yes my friends, some still give daily.

As a young poet once wrote,   

"Wild dogs tease and tear
flesh off the rabbit still in flight.
Not all nights are hunters
Yet sleep makes some the hunted
When dreams are frothing dogs."

To those Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who still fight battles long gone and skirmishes unforgotten, I give my heart and my prayers to them just as I do for those who've paid that most ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives for us. 

Memorial Day is a day to remember all who have given so much for us, for America, for you and me, for your family and mine. We should all remember them everyday, and not just one day a year.

May God Bless those who passed, those who still suffer, and their families. And yes, may God Bless America!


Please Remember Me


Respectfully,
Tom Correa

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment.