Remember (A Memorial Day Word)

When I was a kid we played outside. Without iPhones, Xboxes, and PlayStations, we used our imaginations a lot. Some of my earliest memories are of playing Army in our neighborhood.  Nutter Fort became the great battlefields of American history. Park Hill was Mount Surabachi on Iwo Jima, Elk Creek was Omaha Beach, Norwood Park became Gettysburg, the woods behind the Elementary School became the Ardennes. My friends and I were fierce warriors, turning back our nation’s enemies with our daring do. 

We never lost a battle. 

We never lost a friend.

When I was boy I’d never heard of Iraq or Afghanistan. But in those distant lands, war ceased to be a game I played as a kid. The weapons weren’t made of plastic, the explosions weren’t sound effects I made with my voice, and the battles didn’t end when Jimmy had to go home for dinner. 

In Iraq and Afghanistan, we lost some battles. 

And I lost some friends. 

Every year our nation sets aside one day to remember my friends and all those who died in our real wars. That arrangement is altogether fitting. We don’t do it every day because Americans do not obsess about war and warriors. But on Monday, May 28, we will collectively hit the pause button on our busy lives, look back, and remember. 

On Memorial Day, we honor those who were willing to lay down their lives because there is perhaps nothing more honorable in all human activity than one man defending another with his very life. Two thousand years ago, Jesus said that it was the most loving act a human being can perform.

So, let’s honor their sacrifice together. If you don’t have anyone to remember, you can join me as I remember these outstanding men.