Memorial Day 2008

In the not-too-distant past, my Dad and his two oldest brothers served in WWII-Pacific Theatre. His two younger brothers served in Korea. My husband served in Viet Nam. His father and two uncles served in WWII, one saw combat in Italy. An Aunt was a medical worker in Viet Nam. None were drafted, all were voluntary enlistments. These close family members represent Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force. They all served overseas during times of war. Every minute they spent during those years is one minute longer than Bush or Cheney or any other of our current chickenhawk leaders or their children did when their time came.

Our current war involvement has been so sanitized that we are not even allowed to see the dead. But this is what memorial day means to me -- a chance to reflect on the war dead, the lives they would've had if war had not intervened. I will be spending Memorial Monday at our local war memorial touching the 20th century names from WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I, all etched on cold hard granite slabs. It is the centerpiece of our cemetary. I will be thinking about the big blank slab of granite that stands next to them, the one waiting to receive the 21st century names of the dead from Iraq and Afghanistan. When that slab is finally carved with names is when we will finally be allowed to honor them, because it will mean those wars are over.

Here is Norah Jones, singing a sultry American Anthem (5-minutes):

Since none of my family has ever really talked about their war experiences, I am left with war movies to try and understand their experience. Here is my short-list of some Classic "War" Movies: Slaughterhouse Five, Catch-22, Dr. Strangelove, Johnny Got His Gun, M*A*S*H, and Apocalypse Now. (note: some of these links are videos). Each of these has helped me to understand different aspects of war. It seems to require some distance in time before a definitive movie can be made about any particular war. If I seem conflicted, it's because I am. Just because war is truly a failure of diplomacy, it does not mean that some wars aren't justified.

The author of Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut, after being released from a German P.O.W. camp, found himself on a troop ship coming back to America. He asked a fellow soldier, "So what did you learn from all this?" ... The soldier replied, "Never to believe your own government".

To our current military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, I would like to apologize for our commander-in-chief. Hang on. We are working hard on getting you a better one soon, one that will be bringing you back home to us. Every single one of you, whole and sound.