Every Memorial Day, we specifically honor those men and women who died in service to − or were killed in defense of − our country. We honor those who stayed true to Article 1 of the Code of Conduct for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, which states: “I am an American fighting in the forces that guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.”
We are called to remember those who gave their lives for our country, and to pray for permanent peace. We visit and decorate their graves, and we attend memorial services to honor them collectively and individually. However, the question I present for each of us today is this: How do we honor what they literally died for − our “country and our way of life?”
The question at the heart of ‘Saving Private Ryan’
I believe the ending of the film “Saving Private Ryan” provides a useful analogy for answering this question. The film was inspired by stories of families who lost all their sons during World War II, like the Keniston brothers from Cincinnati who were just 17 and 18 years old when they perished on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, or the Sullivan brothers from Iowa who lost all five of their sons when they were killed in action while serving on a Navy cruiser during the Battle of Guadalcanal in November 1942.
Losing a child is the worst possible pain imaginable for any parent. To lose all your sons is unbearable to even think about. It is the kind of pain from which the Army wanted to save the Niland family in New York two years later.
The four Niland brothers were deployed in different theatres during the war. One was missing in action in Burma, and two were killed in action on consecutive days in Normandy. What was believed to be their sole surviving son was with the 101st Airborne Division at the time of his brothers’ deaths and was sent to England and then back to the States for the remainder of his service, so that at least one of the Nilands’ sons would be spared the horror that the Kenistons and Sullivans endured.
“Saving Private Ryan” was loosely based on this story. In the film, when the title character visits the graves at the Normandy cemetery, he pleads with his wife: “Tell me I’ve lived a good life. Tell me I’m a good man.” He wants to know if he was worth the sacrifice of the soldiers who were killed while extracting him from the battlefront.
Living worthy of freedom
Likewise, we should ask ourselves: Are we worth the sacrifice made by those whom we honor today? Are the lives we lead worth their sacrifice?
References to the “American way of life” became popular in the 1930s to describe our national ethos, although it has no single definition and has been interpreted in various ways. Since it was 1955 when President Dwight Eisenhower issued the Code of Conduct for members of the U.S. Armed Forces, which mentions our way of life, I turn to Will Herberg’s best-selling book that year for his description.
Herberg describes the American way of life, among other things, as being humanitarian, forward-looking, optimistic, generous, and philanthropic. It believes in progress, self-improvement and education. It is characterized by service, stewardship and concern for the general welfare.
So, how do we honor what has been given to us so freely and paid for in blood? I submit to you that we should honor them by preserving what they died for − our country and our way of life. We need to make it worth their sacrifice.
Let us be kind and charitable people. Pursue growth and development both collectively and individually. Exercise faithful leadership and care for the overall well-being of our country. Let us be a people worthy of the gifts of freedom and liberty.
None of us were able to choose to be born in such a blessed nation, but some of us have been willing to die and have died for it. It would be tragic to let so great a sacrifice be in vain.
Jeffrey Layne Blevins is a U.S. Army veteran and Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Cincinnati. This commentary is adapted from his prepared remarks at the American Legion Post 484 Memorial Day Service in Mt. Washington.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: They died for America. Are we worthy of their sacrifice? | Opinion
Reporting by Jeffrey Layne Blevins, Opinion contributor / Cincinnati Enquirer
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