Their Last Full Measure Of Devotion

On this Memorial Day 2013, the golf world is obsessing over such earth-shaking issues as whether a putter can be stuck against a golfer’s fat belly, and whether Sergio and Tiger will kiss, make up and sit down for a candlelight dinner of poulet frit in the near future.  Sergio’s racist fried chicken remarks were compounded by the remarks of George O’Grady, the European PGA Tour Commissioner, who tried to help Sergio by explaining that Sergio has lots of “colored” friends on the golf tour.  The Ulster-born O’Grady demonstrated incredible insensitivity and ignorance on the world stage, confirming the stereotype of the Irish having, shall we say, less-than-enlightened attitudes about race.

Contrast these regrettable incidents with the brilliant article by the Washington Post’s Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Colbert I. King in Saturday’s WashPost.  Mr. King’s article is a tribute to Memorial Day and a reminder of the true meaning of the holiday.  He begins his article by writing that

The observance of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Bureau of Colored Troops in the District occurred this week, only a few days before Memorial Day. It seems fitting that the sesquicentennial of the Colored Troops Bureau falls close to the day originally set aside to remember those killed in the Civil War.

Mr. King points out that “More than 180,000 African American soldiers and sailors served in the Union Army and Navy. Nearly 68,000 died”.  Mr. King writes that 

The African American troops fought to keep the Union together and to free their enslaved brothers and sisters in the South. They volunteered to fight at a time when the country that sent them off to war did not treat them as equals.

Mr. King then moves on to remind all of us about the true meaning of Memorial Day

This is the time to honor those Americans, regardless of race, religion, gender, national origin or sexual orientation, who have given their all in service to our nation.“The blood of heroes never dies,” Moira Michael wrote in a 1915 poem.

The fallen from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and all of the conflicts in between deserve a moment of respect. This ought to be a time when the living set aside their daily cares, albeit temporarily, to remember and honor those who made the supreme sacrifice.

Read Mr. King’s entire article here.  

My boys and I attend the Rolling Thunder parade honoring Vietnam veterans every year here in DC. It is a remarkable experience, 300,000 motorcycles driving past Arlington Cemetery, all around the National Mall and ending at the Lincoln Memorial, next to the Vietnam Memorial.  Extremely controversial for its understated design when first announced, the Vietnam Memorial may be the most moving memorial to our troops this side of the American Cemetery and Memorial at Normandy.  This is especially true on the weekend with so many Vietnam vets in town, filing by The Wall in tribute to their fallen brothers a, sisters and family members.  Everyone should experience Rolling Thunder and see the Vietnam Memorial once in their lifetime.

It Can Never Be Forgotten What They Did

So, thank you, Mr. King, for your reminder that we must always honor those who served our country, this day and every day.  I salute Mr. King, an Army veteran, my late father, a World War II veteran, and all those in our country’s history who, in Abraham Lincoln’s famous words cited by Mr. King, gave their last full measure of devotion for all of us.

                                                            AMDG
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