Editor’s Note:
True Patriots Focus on the Future When Honoring the Past
Mitchell Swan is a retired Marine Colonel with 30 years of service (1987-2017). Born and raised outside Boston, MA, Col. Swan is a graduate of Marquette University’s Business School and NROTC program. He earned his MBA at Chaminade University in Hawaii and is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College. An experienced senior officer, one of his most challenging assignments was crafting U.S. policy for the Middle East during the Arab Spring uprisings for U.S Central Command. In 2016 he wrote the book Broken Arrow: Christ’s Last Stand. Today Mitchell resides in Athens, GA., where he and his wife Leslie own a private wealth management firm. Reprinted with permission.
Originally known as Decoration Day — a locally established day when communities would decorate the graves of native soldiers with flowers, following the Civil War — Memorial Day has grown to become a nationally observed holiday. It was not until 1968, however, that Congress formally established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May, creating a three-day weekend for nearly every American when it went into full effect in 1971. So in the grand scheme of American history and traditions, remembering our fallen military at a national level is actually a relatively recent ritual, and one I feel is often misaligned in its focus.
Perhaps because of their origin, Memorial Day ceremonies focus our attention on and around cemeteries. We remember, honor and reflect on the millions of lives offered up by our courageous American military. We commemorate these sacrifices as a part of our history. Thus we focus on the past.
However, we must remember the “why” behind each of these deaths to fully appreciate the service. By definition, sacrifice is an act of willingly giving up something highly valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy. And while taxes, rationing and thrift are forms of civic sacrifice during periods of war, giving up one’s life in combat is not only the highest price an American can offer — it’s permanent. So what is this higher worth? What motivates our heroes and sustains their courage to fight in periods of certain death?
In a word, it is best summed up as Preservation. Preservation for their “brothers-in-arms” certainly, but also the preservation of America’s future. Through their sacrifices they safeguard the enduring “citizenry” ideals and individual virtues upon which America was formed: Freedom. Liberty. Self-determination. The millions of Americans we honor on Memorial Day paid a “life-sacrifice” to preserve these ideals. Their lives were not offered as tribute to America’s past but as a deposit for our nation’s future.
On Memorial Day we reminisce on what these fallen veterans preserved for us, not just mourn the lives they sacrificed. We must recognize and reaffirm with heartfelt gratitude the sacred responsibility our fallen veterans have bestowed on all living Americans — to guarantee that the freedoms of this country, which they died defending, are preserved for future generations.
G.K. Chesterton, an English author, once wrote: “The true soldier fights not because he hates what’s in front of him, but because he loves what’s behind him.”
If we find truth in these words, may we all take time this Memorial Day to commit ourselves to living as citizens and individuals worthy of such “soldierly” love, not just as homage to the fallen veterans of our past, but also for those veterans who will be called upon to make the same life-sacrifice in our future.
How can we live up to this worthy standard as Americans? Well, we can find some very sound and clear wisdom in scripture.
In Matthew 5:13 Christ reminds us, “You are the salt of the earth.”
The idea we are to live like salt is a simple lesson to ponder during Memorial Day and very relevant for all Americans, even for patriots who don’t share the Christian faith.
Although there are over 14,000 proven uses for salt, there are really only two which make salt a pertinent metaphor on this day: Salt is both a preservative and a disinfectant.
As patriots, to truly revere our fallen warriors we need to preserve those ideals for which our soldiers fought and died. To be successful in preserving those ideals we must also serve as social and political disinfectant against any and all influences, especially domestic, that attempt to alter our Constitution and the framework which built this great country. To do any less would be disrespectful to those who fought and died preserving those principles for more than 200 years.
The best way to honor America’s fallen war heroes is to cherish, not squander, the great inheritance they bequeathed to all current and future generations: the inheritance of Freedom and Liberty. These precious, constitutional gifts are bestowed to each of us at our birth, but only because other Americans were willing to secure them at their death.
May we never forget that the preservation of freedom is a gift from one generation to another, a gift that is continually paid forward.
Memorial Day 2019 I prayed we would always remain faithful to our future generations.