Courage
in Uniform
“Courage
is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live
taking the form of readiness to die.”
G.K.
Chesterton
Every
Veterans' Day, I remember all the men and women I know, or knew, who
served their country in the military. The list is long. My
grandfather and great-uncles served in World War I, my dad and uncle
in World War II, and on down the line, through Korea, Vietnam, Desert
Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. There has been war in every decade of my
life. Just yesterday during worship, a friend was remembering in
prayer, the father he never knew, who died on a beach in Normandy.
Too many of our finest young men and women have had their lives cut
short in war.
I
have friends who served in times of peace, too, or at least who
didn't get shipped off to be forever changed on battlefields. My
former father-in-law spent his World War II years of service in
Kansas, teaching flight school. Lucky man. My friend, Dennis, hit
every port of call as a Marine in the early 1960's, and I'm pretty
sure has intimate knowledge of every pub in Europe. Even at seventy,
he's involved with the Marine Corp League that hosts Toys for Tots
and many other worthy causes. Military service, whenever it comes,
leaves an indelible impression on those who serve. Most of them
express feeling most alive then—the closer to death, the more
alive.
Some
of my best, hardest working students in the college where I taught
were women with two or three years of Army service under their belts.
They were strong, secure, and intelligent. They knew how to work and
had confidence in their ability to get the job done. I admired them,
and was in awe of their fearsome physical presence. I'm pretty sure
they could handle themselves in the field of combat.
I
honestly don't know what prompts men and women to become warriors. I
am, and have always been, a coward at heart. But I am glad that those
who choose to serve in our military have the opportunity to do so. I
am grateful to them for preserving with their very lives the freedoms
that I take for granted. I hope that the rest of us are worthy of
their blood, sweat and tears, their long months of fear and
discomfort in dangerous war zones.
This
Veteran's Day, I pray, though I know it will not be, for peace to
come, so that they, and we, may know life without war. Today, I join
with all Americans in honoring those who serve.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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