For Deceased Veterans
O God, by whose mercy the faithful departed find rest, look kindly on your departed veterans who gave their lives in the service of their country. Grant that through the passion, death, and resurrection of your Son they may share in the joy of your heavenly kingdom and rejoice in you with your saints forever.
(Prayer from the Franciscan Friars, TOR)

(Image and prayer found at: Danielle Bean)

On Memorial Day

The U.S. White House Commission on Remembrance suggests that all Americans pause at 3 PM on Memorial Day, to remember those who gave everything for our freedom.

The Commission encourages Americans to honor the sacrifices of America’s fallen and the families they left behind. It promotes acts of remembrance throughout the year and asks Americans to pay our debt of gratitude in memory of our fallen by giving something back to the Nation.

I like this last bit. Not only do we remember our fallen heroes, but we resolve, with our families and friends, to do something for our country in their honor.

Please do spend some time visiting this site. Especially worthwhile are the History of Sacrifice and Toll of Terrorism links.

And offer a prayer on Memorial Day, for all those who gave all, and for those they left behind.

Happy Memorial Day??

This morning I received an email wishing me a Happy Memorial Day.

It's not the first such wish I have seen, though most are generated by advertising departments trying to lure me into a bargain at a Memorial Day Sale.

They're missing the point.



Picnics are nice. Swimming is nice. Department-store sales are nice. But they're not what Memorial Day is all about.



On Memorial Day, take a little time to bring your children to a military cemetery (above: Beverly National Cemetery in New Jersey, near our home). Tell them that everyone who is buried here died in a war, or was a veteran or spouse of one. Let them look down the long rows of uniform white stones and see how many heroes we remember on this holiday.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

(And thanks again to Dan at Faithmouse for the cartoon above.)

These Colors Don't Run

A tip of my Uncle Sam hat to Dan at Faithmouse for his Memorial Day cartoon. God bless all those who served, all those who sacrificed.

The Gettysburg Address

By Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863


Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The Flag Goes By

by Henry Holcomb Bennett

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Blue and crimson and white it shines,
Over the steel-tipped ordered lines.
Hats off!
The colors before us fly;
But more than the flag is passing by.

Sea-fights and land-fights, grim and great,
Fought to make and to save the State:
Weary marches and sinking ships;
Cheers of victory on dying lips;

Days of plenty and years of peace;
March of a strong land's swift increase;
Equal justice, right and law,
Stately honor and reverend awe;

Sign of a nation, great and strong
To ward her people from foreign wrong:
Pride and glory and honor, - all
Live in the colors to stand or fall.

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums;
And loyal hearts are beating high:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!

Help for the Home Front

The Military Soul Foundation is dedicated to supporting military members and their families.

• The mission of The MilitarySoul Foundation is to make a positive difference in the lives of military families, military personnel and patriots by uniting and supporting kindred spirits.
• To facilitate emotional and financial support to troops and their families.
• To increase public awareness of the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces and their families.
• To sponsor or participate in projects that improve the quality of life for troops and their families as deemed appropriate.
• To document and preserve the esprit de corps of military personnel and families.
• To maintain an interactive portal that will enrich lives by providing inspiration, resources and community.

Do check out their web site. The Links page offers a large number of resources to support the home front.