Roll call

We have been a benign and peaceful people down the scores of years since we were British subjects who helped the mother country fight the French-and-Indian wars on this continent. Despite our wishes and struggles to prosper as an independent nation, we have repeatedly engaged in wars, skirmishes and rumors of wars all the way down the course of our history, up to and including this Memorial Day. Not all of our wars have been "good wars" (as World War II is often called) and many of them cannot be proved necessary or justifiable.

Nevertheless, our troops have carried out their response with devotion --- including the utmost cost of carrying out their orders. We may be proud in relating to others as well as reminding ourselves of their valor. Win or lose, we have given more than we were asked to do, ALWAYS.

Adalist, Amour, Higgins, Stroh, Willie Lee Pulliam, Clarke, Fedorwich, Colligan, O'Rourke -- begin the roster of names of my shipmates during World War II on our first day of combat in the Philippines with the invasion and recapture of Leyte and Samar in 1944. We brought down five Japanese planes, but three of the list didn't make it. I served as a "Navy Medic" looking after the wounded on that and many more days "mopping up" the rest of the major island in liberating the entire archipelago. Prior to that, I was ordered to serve aboard other ships and station from the north Atlantic to Australia and South America. A young man's task --- an old man's remembrance of joy when peace finally came with honor. Joy, not glory. There is no glory in killing.

We rightfully paused on the lovely day of remembrance to share with those who gave their full measure of devotion our gratitude. We are proud to have served this great country and everything she stands for. After four years of bitter war, we set forth to give a hand-up to our enemies in our spirit of generosity and warmth when peace came. These deeds honored our own fallen comrades like my old shipmates. We love you --- we are yet bereft.

Roll Call II

Sad anniversaries tend to bunch in our shared remembrance of battles that turned the tide of history. Even as May is followed by gentle June, then so much follow our thoughts of "D-Day."

The invasion of Hitler's fortress at Normandy was by far the bloodiest in all of that storied time, breaking down the last effective obstacle in winning the whole war.

The cemetery in France closest to this amphibious operation "Overlord" affords a dignified resting-place for American troops who exchanged their lives to effect the greater prize of victory. Who among us can ever forget June 6, 1944? Who in my generation could fail to pass along this greatest of war stories to our admiring children?