The Silence Is Deafening
On my last trip back to Akron I took some time to visit my dad and mom’s gravesite. They are interned at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetary in Seville, Ohio. For me it is humbling to go to that place and see all the headstones and consider all the lives that are represented there. Thankfully, my dad did not pass while serving the U.S. in Korea. The fighting was mostly over when he went in 1957 or so. Mom is buried with dad due to his service to our country.
One of the things that hits me every time I go there is how quiet it is there. It is so quiet that typically all I can here is the sound of the massive flags being whipped around by the wind. There is not much there to stop the wind. It is a massive site literally in the middle of corn fields of northeast Ohio. The silence is deafening for sure.
I was raised at a time when I heard stories about World War II from my grandparents and others that were their age. This generation is often referred to as the Greatest Generation. To me, what they did was totally amazing, and I can’t imagine that it would ever happen again. I also heard stories of Korea and Vietnam. I was old enough to know people who served, and also old enough to realize the impact on their lives once they returned. I was too young to serve in either of those wars but I was coming of age and remember how it tore the country apart. My Uncle Marlin was there and I stayed with my Grandmother (his mom) a lot and we would watch the TV looking for him and we would wait for any information. I also remember seeing the daily scroll of names of those soldiers that had given the ultimate in a faraway land. I remember seeing my grandma cry when she did not see my uncle’s name on the scroll but then hurting so deeply for those families that were not so fortunate.
Fast forward many years and now the first shots fired in the middle east and Afghanistan were televised and live streamed. They also showed planes being shot down and our pilots being dragged through the streets and then their bodies burned. I was able to see people murdered in their towns and villages with a click of my mouse. On the news every night they had the death-o-meter going which tallied the number of brave men and women that had paid the highest price for me and others in this country to be free.
As Memorial Day approaches for 2024 I am even more humbled than most years because as a 60ish year old I have seen and experienced enough to fully realize the sacrifice these men and women have paid over the years. Our country and world are a better place because of their sacrifice and yes, the silence is deafening.
Memorial Day is a day to remember those we owe more than we can ever repay. This isn’t for those that have served, which we should be very thankful as well, but for those who didn’t come back home after kissing their loved one’s goodbye and hugging their mom’s and begging them to not worry even though they knew they would. It was 18-year-olds that were in a carrier headed for Normandy hearing bullets pinging off the outside and were throwing up because the sea was so rough. They were ordered to go once the door dropped and they ran INTO the fire, and some scaled a mountain to stop the enemy. It was guys not much older than me at the time that were in hot jungles taking fire from every possible direction.
I try and juxtapose myself as a teenager going through basic training and learning how to kill and being shipped off to some foreign land that I couldn’t pick out on a globe to fight for the American way of life and to be the good in a real shitty world. It scares me and I can’t thank these people enough…EVER!
Today’s blog will be some of my thoughts, for whatever they are worth, on the price of freedom and hopefully a reminder to me and others that it is impossible to pay them back, but I would sure like to put all of the arguing and debating aside and stop for one day and take a knee to honor the memories of these brave men and women who answered the call.
But First…A Joke:
Two pirates meet up in a pirate bar. The first one, Graybeard, has a patch over one eye, a hook for a hand, and a wooden peg leg. “Ahoy!” says the other pirate, Long John. “What happened to ye since last I say ye?” “Arrr”, says Graybeard. “Me pirate ship was attacked, and a lucky shot made me lose me leg. So now I got this peg.” “What about ye hand?” asks Long John. “When me ship sank, a shark bit me hand off. Now I got me this hook.” “Why the eye patch?” “I bes standin’ on a dock, and the biggest seagull I ever saw poops in me eye.” “Ya went blind from seagull poop?” “Nay,” says Graybeard. “It was me first day with the hook.”
A Verse to Contemplate:
If You, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you - Psalm 130: 3-4
Have I Told You This One?
Never having served myself, I am in awe of the guts and courage it takes for someone in the military to make the commitments that they do. I was born “in between” and was too young for Vietnam and too old for Operation Desert Storm, so I never had to make that decision or had to go through the stress and anxiety involved.
I see the world around me today and it has many things in common to what was going on in the 70’s. There are many that oppose the wars and protest. I also know that many in this world do not look at things like I do and/or were not raised like I was. My dad taught me to have the upmost respect for them and if I didn’t, he let me know about it. I stand for the anthem, I take my hat off, I keep my mouth shut and pay attention. It hurts me to see the disrespect that some give in these moments.
But the truth is that the people that served and gave all were all not doing it for the same reasons. Some were faithful believers, some were atheists, some had different ideas on what freedom meant to them, some had different political leanings, some were good people, and some were not. Some were flag wavers, some couldn’t wait to get out, some were racists, some were drug users and drunks, some were straight, and some were not.
Today, the silence is definitely not deafening. We, as a people, argue and debate over some of the most asinine things. The kids with lime green hair are similar to the hippies back in the 60s and 70s. Everyone thinks they know the best way and the fact is we mostly do not.
The sacrifices and effort should be honored regardless of what we agree on or what we don’t agree on. I don’t think the American flag should ever be disrespected, burned. Others don’t think that way. I think they are grossly wrong but that’s the thing about freedom, it covers a lot of stuff that I will never agree with. I must take the horrible with the great. I find it inconceivable that a person could go up to someone’s family that had a man or woman that died in service to this country and be anything but respectful and thankful, but there are. Again, I think they are wrong, but that freedom was paid for too.
My wish for this Memorial Day is that we really stop and think about what it means. Why do we even celebrate this? In my mind, it is to honor those brave souls that were lost fighting for me and you. Thank you seems so small, but I can’t thank all of them enough for their sacrifice and I will always be thankful and respectful.
The silence in the cemetery is the price of freedom and it is very expensive.
A Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for giving me permission to cry out to You in times of trouble and to bring my doubts and questions before You. Lead me to Your truth that will set me free.
Book Recommendation:
Simplify. Ten Practices to Unclutter Your Soul by Bill Hybels (2014)
Music Recommendation:
Bridge Across Forever by Transatlantic (2001)