"A hill worth dying for..."

 

"The men and women who gave all, wanted only one thing for America. Keep on being free. Enjoy this great land. Go on a picnic, or up to the cabin this weekend. But in the midst of this enjoyment, take some time, just to remember. That freedom is not free. That all give some, and some gave all. That's it - just remember the fallen on this weekend."  

On May 16th, we honored the fighting men and women of our Armed Forces. It was their day. Come November 11th, we will honor the veterans of our Armed Services, as that is their day. But today, on Memorial Day, we honor only the fallen. It is their sacrifice which reminds me of the often-used motto today - "Home of the free, BECAUASE of the brave". And the sons and daughters who gave all, were brave indeed.

A tag line often used in the business world, is if something being worth the effort and/or the risk, a question is asked: "Is this a hill worth dying for?" In other words, are you willing to risk it all, fight like hell, just to win? To succeed? Our brave men and women, who raised their right hands to take the oath, often times did not know what was ahead for them. Some knew they were going to be combat soldiers, and others did not. But the bottom line was this - when you serve in the Armed Forces, you sign up to defend this great land. No matter what it takes. Why? Because this is the hill worth dying for.

I served for 21 years in the Navy and Naval Reserve. I never saw combat up close. But shortly after I went in, I had the honor to be with a bunch of men who had been wounded in Viet Nam, some severely. I was in Balboa Naval Hospital in 1969 getting a hernia repaired. I had been in boot camp all of a month and had my Navy experience was only being with a bunch of boots. But that changed when I got to Balboa. I was in a 60-man open ward, and over half were recovering from wounds received in combat.

Some were lightly wounded, and some had terrible wounds. The Marine who was in the bed next to me, had been burned over most of his body. It was touch and go for him every day. And every day, his young wife would be by his bedside, holding his hand and talking to him. I was 19 and the Marine was just a few years older than me. His life had changed in an instant. My visit to Balboa was short, so I never did find out if he lived or died. But that was my first opportunity to see what "some gave all" really meant. 

This is a day to pause and remember. The combat soldiers, who are at the tip of the spear, know that every day could be life or death. A friend of mine I met right out of high school, went in the Army the same time I went in the Navy. He was young, good looking and smart. He wanted to be a Warrant Officer and fly choppers. He knew to do so, that would probably put him in Viet Nam. He lived his dream of flying choppers until it ended in the Central Highland of Viet Nam. He snagged a wire coming in for a landing, crashed and burned.

The men and women who gave all, wanted only one thing for America. Keep on being free. Enjoy this great land. Go on a picnic, or up to the cabin this weekend. But in the midst of this enjoyment, take some time, just to remember. That freedom is not free. That all give some, and some gave all. That's it - just remember the fallen on this weekend.