Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States, a day on which we honor all of those who have given their lives in service to our country. Today, we are having another graduation in our family - that makes two weekends in a row for us. My wife and I are very proud parents today - we cherish memories like today and feel truly blessed to have four wonderful children. We told our two graduates that we were very proud of all that they have accomplished so far in their lives, and we look forward to all of the things that they will accomplish in their futures. I feel a lot of pride today, but I am also thinking about all of the things in my life that I am fortunate to have because of those men and women who "gave the last full measure of devotion." It is our fortune to share the blessings of our children and be proud of who they have become on days like today, and we owe an incredible debt of gratitude to all of those who have served our country.
The men and women who choose to serve our country have made an incredible gift of love for their country and its citizens. That gift of love happens though on the day that they swear allegiance "to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic," for on that day, they make a choice to be willing to give their lives in fulfillment of that promise. That too is a gift of love that we should honor and remember.
Once the battle begins, the men and women in our military no longer fight for their country. Rather, they are fighting for each other. There is a scene in the movie "Black Hawk Down" that talks about this point. This particular scene occurs towards the end of the movie. One of the characters ("Hoot") is talking to another character about "why we do it."
Hoot: When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a goddamn word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is.
There is another scene from the movie, "Gettysburg" in which Colonel Chamberlain is trying to convince several men who have reached the ends of their enlistment periods to stay and fight with the 20th Maine in the coming battle.
Chamberlain: This regiment was formed last summer in Maine. There were a thousand of us then. There are less than three hundred of us now. All of us volunteered to fight for the union, just as you did. Some came mainly because we were bored at home -- thought this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came because it was the right thing to do. And all of us have seen men die.
This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history, you will see men fighting for pay, for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, power, because a king leads them or - or just because they like killing. But we are here for something new. This has not happened much in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free.
America should be free ground - all of it. Not divided by a line between slave state and free - all the way, from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here, we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here, you can be something. Here, is the place to build a home. But it's not the land. There's always more land. It's the idea that we all have value - you and me.
What we're fighting for, in the end, we're fighting for each other.
Powerful words. So remember tomorrow as you sit down with family and friends, enjoying the beautiful summer weather, sitting by the pool, grilling, or whatever you are doing. Please remember that those whose day we are celebrating made a clear, deliberate choice to serve, and if necessary, die for their country. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." That is what we celebrate.
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