The other day I got an update from the campaign for Virg Bernero about Memorial Day observances and parades in the Lansing area. I won't be getting on the road to the Lansing area this weekend. There are a few public observances around the Ann Arbor area, and I will also be observing privately.
Along with so many young men, my uncles and my father enlisted for military service connected with WWII. My great aunt was one of the first five women ever to be promoted to colonel rank in the Army Nurse Corps. She served in England during WWII and around the world before retirement. I will be wearing her insignia pins near my heart this weekend.
Sacrifice of life or soundness merits serious observance. In a broader sense, service in our armed forces requires some sacrifice whether in conflict or not. Members of the armed services give up rights and commit their lives to the missions of their organizations. An older friend was a peace-time Army draftee. When we were sophomores during the Vietnam conflict, a college friend enlisted in exchange for her medical training. Male friends in college also enlisted, and some got drafted in the lottery. A few years ago, a young friend enlisted with special permission and served over two years in the Navy before she turned 20. All of them suspended civilian life to meet their commitments.
We are at liberty to serve community. Volunteers make our society better. The numbers show, however, that relatively few of us volunteer to suspend our civilian lives to serve in the all-volunteer armed forces. Is it any wonder? Although my family WWII vets miraculously survived to old age, war persists. Conflicts are still creating many armed services combat veterans and casualties to whom Memorial Day observances will be dedicated for time to come. A friend was five when her father was shot down in Vietnam. His name is on the D.C. Vietnam Memorial wall. The somber "Honor Roll" keeps growing on the News Hour.
Some vets re-enter civilian life unscathed and some do not. It is important to prepare our armed services personnel well. As cilivians, it is important to prepare and keep the kind of secure society that welcomes them after they fulfill their service commitments. We can remember every day that, as hard as times are, our armed services protect us in a way that we cannot protect ourselves. We can remember every day that, they have aided civilians here and elsewhere, on a scale that we could not. We can remember that the society we create every day should be worth the sacrifices.
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