We must think about big picture behind Memorial Day
Memorial Day had its origin as Decoration Day following the Civil War, but it only became an official federal holiday to honor those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces of the United States in 1971.
Memorial Day is also an occasion to associate those who died with the just causes for which the United States was willing to go to war. World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam were conflicts where freedom was clearly at stake. The post 9/11 engagements in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere remain a bit more complicated, being associated with responses to horrific abuse of power and to transnational radical Islamist terrorism.
October 2018 will mark the commemoration of 25 years since U.S. forces were routed from Somalia. But even in and after defeat, we still commemorate the courageous Army Rangers and Delta Force members who fought and died in the chaotic streets of Mogadishu, so that their fellow soldiers could survive against overwhelming odds, depicted in the popular film “Blackhawk Down.”
While remembering those who died in defending U.S. interests in conflicts large and small is a central purpose of this holiday, Memorial Day takes on its deepest meaning when we connect it with our roots. Americans were unique in sacrificing their treasure and giving their lives to found the first country in history establishing that all people have natural rights that come from God rather than from rulers or government. The Declaration of Independence affirmed the equality of all people and that they were endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thus, when Americans sacrificed their lives in military service, it was not just to defend the United States, but it was also to uphold the natural rights and spiritual values associated with the nation’s founding that provide inspiration for others worldwide.
Yet another significant part of celebrating Memorial Day is associated with the example set by Americans in how they treated their vanquished foes.
The respect that General MacArthur and the occupying American forces displayed after Japan’s surrender won the people over, facilitating the acceptance of postwar policies that forced fundamental change on the country. As a result there was little resistance to the rewriting of the Japanese constitution and laws, land reform and the reorganization of business to provide more fairness and opportunity.
In Europe after armistice, the war-indebted United States launched the Marshall Plan that gave some $125 billion in current dollar value in economic support to help reconstruct war-devastated regions in Western Europe. Major initiatives included rebuilding industry — even giving the Europeans a leg up on the U.S. with the building of state of the art factories and facilities that were in many cases more efficient than what then existed in the U.S.
In sum, Memorial Day means more than remembering those who died in military service to the country. It means connecting with a heritage that began with a courageous and faithful group of founders, who risked their lives for the birth of freedom and the establishment of America as a “shining city on a hill.” It also means remembering what made “the greatest generation,” who — after forfeiting so many lives to assure victory for the Allied nations in World War II — then sacrificed more to rebuild and preserve the independence of its former enemies.