Memorial Day Thoughts

Here are some thoughts I emailed yesterday to some people back home:

Hi Everyone,

I'm just finishing a book called When Hell Was in Session, by Sen. Jeremiah Denton, Rear Admiral, ret. He recounts his time as a POW during the Vietnam War. Those of you in my parents' generation have probably read this book, or know of it. Anyway, he recounts his torture and his faith in God through it all. One of the Sergents Major here at 1st CAV lent it to me; his uncle was one of the POWs in the book.

So, to remember Memorial Day, let me include this quote from Sen. Denton:

"Democracy and freedom are rarities; hard to attain, harder to preserve. The pages of history are littered with freedom's stillborn, of people who rose against their oppressor, only to have sweet victory stolen from their grasp by another oppressor."

"But we are different. The strength of our nation is more than a material strength. We are a strongly moral people, and our country is based on spiritual strength. Lose that, and we lose everything."

"The Declaration of Independence has established certain moral confines, and governs in a manner consistent wit the spirit under which our nation was founded: Love God; love thy neighbor as thyself."

"God is denied by the Communists, and this denial is reflected by the way in which they treat their own subjects. Their system derives its strength from discipline imposed by the state. Ours derives its strength from the collective self-discipline of our individual citizens."

"Such thoughts would carry me through the night, until I heard in the predawn distance the rattling sound of the Hanoi streetcars beginning their first circuit. Then my thoughts would turn to surviving another day."

Even though he is speaking about the Vietnam War, I believe these words ring true in our current fight against terror. My prayer is that the attempts at democracy and freedom in Iraq will not be stillborn. As I write, we have heard the thunderous sound of incoming mortars, a reminder that freedom is hard fought.

I also want to include this quote from Ronald Reagan, who said:

"Double, no triple, our troubles, and we'd still be better off than any other people on earth. It is time that we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause."

Our nation, with its freedom, continues to fight for a noble cause. Remember how blessed we are today, and remember those who died for our freedom!