We have always prayed to be worthy of these men; we have always wondered why we have these men:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom— and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

In that - the greatest American speech ever - the wonder of where we get these men is present. That we still have these men and women is a source for not just wonder but rejoicing. That we still have men and women like this, after almost nine years of war, after almost nine years of slander directed at these men and women by the 'best and brightest' entertainers, politicians, activists, pundits, and academics we and the world can identify shows the incredible resiliance and strength of the American Republic, and the enduring deep wells of the American experiment (no matter the drought or how much pollution is pumped into it).

That we still produce these men and women (my eldest nephew is a Marine - I remember when he was born 22 years ago) is the greatest frustration the enemies of liberty have, and are my confidence that these enemies will recede again like the tide, leaving the foul evidence of their perfidy on the sands under the sun for all to see and stop their noses against. Another tide of the enemies of liberty recede, like before.

Each generation receives its test. Sometimes harder, sometimes easier. Sometimes - usually - a win for liberty. Occaisionally a loss. But liberty keeps going on going on.

And we still find these men and women. And the questioning of where we find them, how do we deserve to find them, says a lot about how we think about ourselves, does it not? We deem ourselves, our society, our republic not worthy of these men and women. We look at the squalid behavior of those with wealth and power and celebrity, we see the disgusting behavior of those with little wealth, power, or education and conclude that there is nothing left to defend and nothing to produce defenders if there even was something to defend.

And yet the defenders still come forth. And for that we should rejoice, for if we still produce men and women like these we are not yet unworthy; and in gratitude we should rededicate ourselves to live our lives in a manner that is compatible with producing these men and women.

I believe these men are the hope for the future of our nation. When the crapweasels, losers, slackers thieves and degenerates fade away, these heroes will step up to the plate and lead us out of the woods. Count on it.

My son is Marine stationed in the Helmand Provence. When a Marine dies in the area, all communication is cut off until the first-of-kin are notified. They call it: "River city".

No news is bad news.

Since he's been deployed, I have always wondered what to say to him...to comfort him, if one of his brothers is hurt, or killed.
This helped. Thanks.

As an aside:

There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.

And isn't that the history of America in a nutshell?

Patvann, I know exactly how you feel. My son served in the Marines in Fallujah. In Dec. 2005 ten Marines died there from one IED blast. Phones got shut down and my wife and I spent about 36 anxious hours before the names were released by DOD. They were not from Stephen's unit, but we had no way to know that at the time.

One of Stephen's high school friends, also a Marine, was KIA in Iraq after my son came home. We went to the funeral. Very sad, and it really hit my son hard.

I don't know what to advise you to say if a friend of your son dies. I am a retired Army combat-arms officer who is now a Methodist minister, and I was at a loss for words in my son's grief. The pain comes from a place words can't vent.

All you can do is offer a "ministry of presence," to be there with him and for him, and to be a safe place for him to crack the hard shell that hard-service veterans emplace about themselves. But the shell will crack only slowly.

I still find it hard to speak of things. My 91-year-old father in law, veteran of eight combat amphibious assaults and islands campaign in the Pacific, still does not speak of it.

Remember always that if your son loses a friend he will have lost one he loved with all his heart. The love soldiers in battle have for one another is "more excellent than of women" as King David said.

And indeed, they love one another more than life itself. Perhaps my Memorial Day post will help.

God bless you from this day until the ending of the world. And may your son return whole and unharmed.

Mikey,

The next couple of lines of FDR's speech seem appropriate too:

In this world of ours in other lands, there are some people, who, in times past, have lived and fought for freedom, and seem to have grown too weary to carry on the fight. They have sold their heritage of freedom for the illusion of a living. They have yielded their democracy.

Thanks again, Gerard.

That's BG's squad leader doing the reading. BG lost a squadmate, Brendan Neenan. I've got a picture I took of him back during deployment up at Winds.

Marc

Amen.

The next time I see Fred Phelps and his band of hateful protesters at a soldier's funeral, claiming to speak for God, I will think of this battle weary soldier offering a kindness to his fellow soldier, and remember what a real Christian is, and strive to be like him.

These soldiers hold the barbarians outside the gate.

It is shameful that the limosine liberals have forsaken their country (and its people) believing that with their mere words of enlightenment, they can sow peace and establish a new world order. But they have also sanitized peoples actions and dismissed such lucids terms as 'evil'.

So men like this soldier go out into the field without the blessings of a significant proportion of the intellectual elite of this country.

So much for Academia.

A note that is applicable to those in the military as well as civilians....

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

Now my make up is ruined.

I'm going to have to stop reading you first thing every morning. (Just kidding.)

Phelps and his protesters, the liberals, the skull vacant academics and the shirkers use to bother me. I let them go for they truly have no direction in their lives, save that given by the boss lemming.

The ones that do cause anger are the ones like Blumenthal (CT) that steal that which is unearned and undeserved.
They wish the what, "honor, glory" to attach to them without paying with the fears, tears and later the indelible memories that revisit uninvited.

Hotspur posted to this at http://www.nerepublican.com/index.php/2010/06/09/he-was-lying-to-me-face-to-face/
I normally wouldn't put a link to another blog in here but this speaks directly to this subject.
If Mr. Vanderleun is so kind...

I borrowed Mikey's eloquent words tonight, I hope you don't mind.