Posted on 05/26/2003 11:22:50 AM PDT by EBUCK
It was a dream, I think. I opened my eyes, aware of something … someone … else in the room. I edged my hand toward the pistol in my nightstand, then started at his voice, soft and calm: 'No need for that, my friend,' he said, 'You're in no danger from me.' Somehow, something in his voice told me it was true, and my pounding heart subsided; I breathed again.
Squinting, straining to see, yet he was only a shadow, darker than the rest. Before I could ask what he wanted, he began to speak, 'I'm sorry I startled you, and I know you have questions, but if you listen, they will all be answered. You and I were both chosen — I, because I was in your war; you, because you think of us … because you remember.'
'What do … ,' I tried to ask, but he went on, 'I've brought a message, Paul. It's the last message … and we want you to give it to the others for us, because we can't. You see, once we were all what you, too, were – simply an American who was willing to serve. We were Marines, soldiers, sailors, airmen; but our end was one you did not share … we died in battle, fighting for this nation. In over 200 years, we have been allowed to contact the living only a few precious times. And this time is the last.'
I heard a sob … then realized that it had come from me. The sorrow in his voice was that which I had hidden in my heart so long ago, and that long-buried grief had come unbidden to the surface. Knowing who he was, and what had happened to him and the others, brought an anguish and dread, as if I already knew what he was going to say. 'That's why you were chosen, Paul' he said, and paused. Fighting back the tears I dared not let start, I struggled to regain control, as he continued.
'Listen, most of us weren't all gung-ho, you know, anymore than the others. And we sure weren't interested in that giving-our-lives-for-our-country stuff, believe me. You remember how it was: we were just looking to come back home in one piece. We just did what we knew needed to be done, because it's our country, and we felt we owed it that much, you know?' Yeah … I knew.
'Listen, because this is the last time, I'm allowed to give a personal message, and some of the guys there knew you, and they wanted me to tell you hello. Billy Bennett is one; he said he wished you guys were still playing ball together … and Larry Duke, the guy from Georgia who got killed in the chopper crash right after you left country. He knows you tried to contact his folks to give them that picture you had of him, and he really appreciates it. And Bobby McJunkin, the kid brother of your classmate David. Remember Kenneth Rubbo, the guy who got married in Monterey right before you all came over? And Michael Sprague, the California kid who was always smiling … ' And as he went down the list, the tears came in a flood, but strangely mixed with sudden laughs and joy at memories of those forever-young faces, and the things we'd shared in school or on ball fields, or in boot camp, infantry training or language school. Memories of guys I hadn't even known had been killed came flooding back, along with the places and the things we'd done and shared. It was almost as if they were each there with me, talking and laughing, like we were just reminiscing about old times. Almost.
After what seemed like hours, he paused again … and after a few seconds, I realized that he'd finished with the greetings from those whom I had known. The strange mix of elation at the crystal clear remembrances and heartache for their deaths slowly faded, replaced by a somberness at what came next. From 'my war' and every war our country has fought, all the way back to the beginning, he had brought a message … a message to the Americans who yet lived, and who enjoy all the blessings of freedom and opportunity they had all lost to death. The weight of that responsibility made me tremble.
'Paul, we don't want fancy words or sentiment; everyone was agreed on that. In fact, we agreed almost unanimously on what to say, and we wrote it down, so there'll be no misunderstanding.' And then, with a deep breath, he began to speak, slowly and carefully, and this is the message he gave to me, for all of us in these United States who enjoy the blessings and freedom and joys they gave up:
'On this Memorial Day, 2003, we for whom this holiday has been set aside have a message for all living Americans. It is not to benefit ourselves, for nothing will give us back the lives we lost. The message is rather for you, the living. For the children, grandchildren and other family members we never got to know, to love, to share our lives with.
We send this message by right of the sacrifices we made for the nation we loved, and in acknowledgment of the freedoms and lives we've made possible for you … all of you … who came after us:
How is it you think solemn ceremonies or rites honor us, or our sacrifice, when you have abandoned the freedoms and principles for which we died, and given them into the hands of bureaucrats and professional politicians? We died as citizens fulfilling our acknowledged duty as citizens , but you disdain such duty as though it is beneath you. Without our performance of that duty, however, what chains or rags would you be wearing today, instead of enjoying freedom and prosperity? We who died for those things neither want nor accept the false honor from you who refuse the inconvenience of American citizenship. Perhaps we should we tell you how 'inconvenient' death is?
Those who were there at the beginning of this nation know what was meant by the words of the Constitution. It was purposely written in terms of morality, for moral and ethical behavior applies in every generation, no matter the technological or societal changes. It is about men and their behavior, about governments and their dangers, and about active participation of citizens in the governing of their own lives. To what people, and in what era, do these things not apply? That Constitution means today what it meant then, and those who say otherwise are liars … or fools.
We who never got to see our children grow up, or even to have children, who never got to experience the everyday trials and irritations of which you complain … we did not die for … this! For a self-centered, immoral, divided America, whose people accept the mindless ideas of a self-anointed elite and an intrusive massive government that has always been the main threat to freedom. We took a vote, and it's unanimous: None of us would have died for the nation you have created! If you want to truly honor us, then restore this nation to its Founding principles, put God back in His rightful place, as the center of it all, and make some effort to protect those precious freedoms, whether from foreign foes or domestic demagogues. Otherwise, your shallow 'patriotism' and insincere praise do not honor, but insult. Because you weren't called to pay our price, do you think you need not pay any? This country rests on its citizens actions; we did our part … how dare you neglect yours?' 'That's it, Paul,' he said quietly; 'Just write it like I read it, please.' I hung my head in shame at how my generation has trivialized the sacrifices of all those who gave their lives for our nation, making possible the freedom and prosperity we have. And when I looked up again, he was gone.
When I awoke this morning, I thought about the message, and about all those I knew who had died in Viet Nam. And that got me to thinking about Korea, and WWII, and Iraq … all the other wars where young men had died to preserve this way of life we take so much for granted. And I said a quiet prayer, thanking God for them and their sacrifice. Then I arose from my still-damp pillow, pondering on these things, and on my dream. It was a dream … I think.
I'm surprised. nobody has called you names like: "Losertairan" or "Libertine" yet. Good heavens, go back to Constitutional government? "The horror, the horror"
LOSERDOPIAN!!! :)
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