Veterans Day

As I read the newspaper this morning, I saw a page dedicated to the "Faces of the Fallen." The Washington Post began publishing this page several years ago to recognize United States soldiers, men and women, who recently died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  When first published the list often took multiple pages to complete and appeared more frequently, but  today forty-five names and faces appeared on page A12, stretching across nearly nine months, from December of 2013 through August 12 of this year.

 

I read these names and study these faces to remind me of the terrible costs of war.  I know that our nation's losses are not the only deaths worth noting. Jesus reminded his followers that they were to pray for their enemies and in doing so to honor and respect all life.  Mothers and fathers, spouses and children, siblings and friends in many cultures across thousands of miles grieve in the midst of war's death and destruction.  But these are faces and names I see and identify.  In pondering these names and faces of the fallen, I wonder about their families, their dreams, their faith, the things that gave them joy and the fears that may have held them captive.  I know this is an exercise of the imagination for the details of their lives are unknown to me.  But somewhere, in places like Sandpoint, Idaho, Kailua, Hawaii, Independence, Kentucky, Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Los Angeles, California, those details are known and hearts are broken as a result of their loss. 

 

In that same section of the paper today, their was a full page interview and caricature of ninety two year-old World War II veteran, Thomas Miller.  Like most men of his generation, Miller doesn't feel that what he did in service to his country during those difficult days was worthy of recognition.  "I did my job," he says, "and some of it was dangerous.  But I never did anything spectacular.  There were so many people who made all kinds of sacrifices."  This gentlemen, whose faithful service to our nation dates back seventy years, reminds us of the sacrifice and humility that so often accompanies service.  In reading his story and the names and faces of the fallen, I am reminded of the significance of today, Veterans Day.

 

But there was something else in Miller's story on page A10 that caught my eye.  He says, "I got to thinking in the last few years what a stupid thing war is.  It goes against everything we are taught about the sanctity of life.  But how can you eliminate it?  I don't know."  His question should be pondered again and again, particularly on a day like today.

 

Confronted by the faces of the fallen and the questions of a ninety two year-old man who has seen the best and worst of humanity, we cannot trivialize this day as a shopper's holiday or gift of leisure.  Veterans Day calls us to the solemn tasks of remembrance, gratitude, and the hard and challenging work of peacemaking. I am grateful for men and women who have served this nation and continue to do so today, many in very dangerous places.  They deserve our gratitude and respect, and along with the leaders of our nation and nations around this world, also our prayers. 

 

I believe the answer to Thomas Miller's question may be found in the wisdom of the One who has created us, and in the courage exemplified in the example of Jesus, the Christ. "I don't know," didn't satisfy Thomas Miller, and it shouldn't satisfy us either.

 

Jim Abernathy