Memorial Day 2005

For 137 years now, America has honored those who gave their lives in the service of their country.  We set aside this day to honor America's hearts - the hearts that were stilled by the cause of freedom and the broken hearts of the loved ones they left behind.  It is right and fitting that we do this as the men and women that have made the ultimate sacrifice deserve nothing less - and so much more. 

As we honor their lives and their sacrifice they live on in our memories.  They live in our hearts.  They live on in the memorials for them across this nation.  They live on in our hopes - the hope that somewhere, someday, today's children, and the children of tomorrow, will live in peace and without fear.

I have recently become involved in a grass roots effort to build a veterans memorial park in the Denver suburb in which I live.  The importance and significance of a project such as this are obvious.  At the first meeting I attended I had the honor of meeting an extraordinary woman - Terry Cooper.  Terry is a wonderful lady and very dedicated and vehement in her support of getting this memorial park built.  When I introduced myself to her, it left a lump in my throat and I was quite overwhelmed.  I found myself in a rare situation for me - I didn't know what to say. 

You see Terry is the mother of Lance Corporal Thomas Slocum.  LCPL Slocum's grades in school weren't anything extraordinary and he was a bit of a troubled kid.  He made the decision to join the Marines in an effort to turn himself around.  He didn't do anything half way.  Before he finished high school he was on the honor roll and soon he was in the Marines.  To hear his friends and family tell the story, he was gung-ho all the way. 

This young Marine soon found himself in Iraq assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.  On March 24, 2003 his girlfriend Kristy received a letter from Thomas.  In it Slocum wrote: "I can't wait to come home and share the stories of my experiences and travels with the whole family.  I've been training hard and becoming smarter, harder, faster and deadlier everyday. ... I took the picture of you and (Kristy's daughter) Zoe and put it in the pocket closest to my heart always." A day before she read those words, Slocum was killed in an ambush near An Nasiriya.

Lance Corporal Slocum was Colorado's first casualty of the war in Iraq.  Over 1,000 people turned out on April 10, 2003 as Thomas was laid to rest. 

Since that day, Terry and her husband Stan have dedicated themselves to ensuring not only Thomas, but all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and have served this nation are never forgotten.  Terry would have every right to be angry and upset having lost her son but she knows he was serving our nation in a right and just cause. 

You see, most Americans do not realize the blessings they have. So many in this world envy our freedom, and we ourselves do not know what we have. 

Those who would stand and criticize the protectors and question their actions don't realize that it is those very same people they seek to pass judgment on that have given them the ability to do so. 

I recently read a story...  Colonel Jeff Douglass, USMC was waiting for a flight from Sarajevo to Vienna. He found himself in a conversation with a gentleman named Peter who was departing Sarajevo after gathering research for a book he was writing.

Peter pointed to the United States passport Colonel Douglass was carrying, and said: "Do you know what that is worth?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Douglass replied rather puzzled at what Peter said. 

"Of course," Peter said, "Forgive me, I forgot. You Americans do not realize the blessings you have. So many in this world envy you...and you do not know what you have. You see, freedom is what these people cherish. It is such a dream for many. Here, as is the case in many countries, families are willing to send their young away to freedom, in spite of the pain. You Americans are a lighthouse beacon for freedom, and I wonder if you realize this."

What does freedom mean? What does it cost?  Are the sacrifices by those who died as a result of service to our nation forgotten?

In the face of today's splurge of multi-million dollar buyouts, contracts, endorsements, and signing bonuses, and "me" attitudes there are those who still go quietly and diligently to serve the People.  There are still, as there have always been, those that make the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation. 

It is important that Memorial Day represent more than the mere opening date of the neighborhood swimming pool or the family barbeque. It signifies all the valor, consequence, and memory of the sacrifices made by countless men and women who have served our nation and gave everything they could. It is a focal point for Americans to recall those who have served and to re-commit to the enduring values of service to our country. 

In 1894 Theodore Roosevelt said, "Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it... It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger."

On Memorial Day 2005, please take a moment from your long weekend and remember and honor the "doer of deeds" - our nation's servicemen and women. 

The Sales Pitch

Our fighting men and women are doing more and under greater demands than almost any time in the past. These folks deserve and indeed truly need our help and support. You don't have to support the war and the battles being fought to support these brave people. With the holidays approaching, any support offered by those of us back home would be greatly appreciated by service members.

As such, I am making a personal plea... If you read my messages and enjoy them, I am asking for you to show your support for my time and effort by donating to a worthy cause. Any amount would be welcomed. I have identified a few organizations and causes that I have given to and support that do great things for those in uniform. I urge everyone who receives this message to take the time and spend a few dollars to help these organizations and thus our soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen.

The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund - An organization dedicated to helping the families of those men & women who have made the ultimate sacrifice. http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/foundation_heroesfund.html

Fallen Patriot Fund - Founded by Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, this organization was established to help families of U.S. military personnel who were killed or seriously injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom. http://www.fallenpatriotfund.org/

Veterans of Foreign Wars Operation Uplink - Ask anyone (including myself) who has been deployed overseas how much a phone call home means and you will know what a great program this is. Donations are used to buy calling cards for military members so they can do something that means more to them than just about anything - call home! http://www.operationuplink.org/

Armed Forces Relief Trust - Virtually anyone who has served is familiar with their particular branch of service's relief society. They do great things for those serving and I cannot say enough about the organization. Whether it is payment for a soldier's airfare to fly home for his father's funeral, a special reading program for a sailor's daughter, special medical attention for a pilot's expectant spouse, or college tuition for a soldier's child, they are there for service members. http://www.afrtrust.org/

Pentagon Memorial Fund - 184 military members and DOD employees lost their lives at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. A memorial is planned for the grounds of the Pentagon but it needs your support. The memorial will instill the ideas that patriotism is a moral duty, that freedom comes at a price, and that the victims of this attack have paid the ultimate price. http://www.pentagonmemorial.net