Worthy Warriors
Memorial Day brings thoughts of a holiday and sales from retail outlets from apparel, appliances, furniture, to outdoor lawn care and accessories. But as I reflected on what this holiday represents, I realized that sales circulars and ads offering savings are just and appropriate for this day and not just a means of bringing in customers and moving merchandise. It is appropriate in saving as we remember the sacrifice of men and women who gave their lives in uniform, saving our Republic from threats, whether in war or peacetime.
The history of the world has been marked by violence since biblical times. Nations have built armies to conquer other nations or to defend against marauding hordes. On Memorial Day, I think of those who fought and died for the freedoms we have to live in Texas and this great nation. I think of Crockett, Travis, Bowie and Fannin who willingly gave their lives against all odds to oppose a tyrannical dictator. Their sacrifice fueled victory at San Jacinto, forging a new nation, the Republic of Texas.
From that day forward Texans have had a unique sense of pride and duty to protect and defend the homeland as well as defeating tyrants around the world. We should be eternally grateful for their service and sacrifice. I am sure you are connected to someone or a relative that served during WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or other engaged conflicts. For me, I think of my father who fought Hitler in WWII, liberating work camps and witnessing mass extermination at the Dachau concentration camp. He survived the war, but his thoughts were continually for those that served with him and did not come back; those that are buried on foreign soil.
Today’s Armed Forces are volunteer, which brings even more honor to those that serve. Like Crockett and Bowie, they come on their own volition, ready to be in whatever fight that is presented. Unfortunately, many are sent into un-winnable circumstances that make their loss that much harder to take. But volunteers are warriors by nature, and this state and nation need warriors. Warriors are worthy of special honor as they stand guard between the despots of the world and us.
So on this Memorial Day and those to come, let the savings from sale ads be a reminder. Give a silent prayer of thanks for the Crocketts, Bowies and Warriors of our generations that gave their all to save our democracy. Our nation lives because of them. They are worthy.