Honor their sacrifice

After World War II ended, this letter was written by a naval officer to a friend’s Gold Star mother whose son was lost in battle:

“It is easy for me think of the ship and her men as still sailing somewhere, only I am rudely not with them. I miss them both, the living and the dead, and sometimes I can’t remember in which group a friend belongs. They stay alive and they stay young while I grow old. Young and carefree, young all over, young and smiling. It’s a good way to remember them.”

On Memorial Day we should pause to remember the sacrifices of the ones who stay forever young while we are fortunate to grow old. Likewise, we should also remember the sacrifices of the one who lost their spouse; the parent who lost their child; the child who lost their parent.

As we remember the ones who did not get to come home, let’s resolve to honor them with a nation worth dying for.

John Garske

Spokane