Memorial Day Meditations

[George Aar]

In a battle not too long ago:

"On 1 July, British, French and Commonwealth troops went on the offensive. Many walked slowly towards the German lines, laden down with supplies, expecting little or no opposition. But the bombardment had failed in two ways; much of the munitions used by the English were 'duds' and didn't destroy frontline barbed wire or robustly built concrete bunkers sheltering the Germans and it had given them advance warning of an attack. Tens of thousands of men fell to German machine guns - many as soon as they climbed out of the trenches.

By the time the offensive was called off in November, the British and French had gained just eight miles of territory and lost 620,000 casualties; the German casualties were estimated at 500,000."

I'll do the arithmetic for you. That's 1.62 MILLION casualties, the wounded and killed, in a little over 4 months time. The infamous Valley of the Somme. Easily one of the bloodiest campaigns in the history of warfare.

And how many of us today, except those with a particular interest or possibly a degree in history, can recount what the objective of that offensive was? And, moreover, how many today can recall why the entire First World War was even fought? Yeah, we know the Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated by some tubercular Serbian Nationalist, but how in the hell did some Austrian Figurehead's death touch off a Global conflict? Again, it probably requires a good bit of research and schooling to even figure that out.

And in the final end, what was accomplished? The evil Huns got pushed back in their cage, only to break out and do the SAME thing all over again some 20 years later.

The futility of it all overwhelms me at times. Certainly we owe the freedom we enjoy to the sacrifices of some of the servicemen who've taken up arms and marched off to war. But I fear that there's lots of those wonderful guys who - despite the spirited oratory of a good many of our leaders - DID die in vain. They fought a senseless war for no good reasons and paid a horrendous price for ... nothing.

I also fear that war is all too often the first choice when it comes to foreign policy. Diplomacy is for wimps. We don't want to be another Chamberlain, do we?

So our leaders swagger and talk big talk, all the while their loved ones are safely escounced off in some prep school, while the unwashed rabble can supply their offspring as cannon fodder.

Yes, we have real enemies. And I guess there's times when war IS necessary. And I DO support our troops. But I think supporting them MIGHT just mean wanting them to stay alive for a good long while.

Anyway, I have no profound conclusions, just lots of ambiguieties.

A few of the things I'll be thinking about today, when I put some flowers on my dad's gravestone, with the simple inscription:

GEORGE L. AAR

1917 - 1967

U.S. NAVY - SC1C

Edited May 29, 2006 by George Aar

[topoftheworld]

Thank you, dear George. I'll have a thought for you and your dad as well.

[coolchef1248 @adelphia.net]

george be proud of your Dad

I am proud of him and my Dad too and all of the vets

[jardinero]

The futility of it all overwhelms me at times. Certainly we owe the freedom we enjoy to the sacrifices of some of the servicemen who've taken up arms and marched off to war. But I fear that there's lots of those wonderful guys who - despite the spirited oratory of a good many of our leaders - DID die in vain. They fought a senseless war for no good reasons and paid a horrendous price for ... nothing.

George, I've had very similar thoughts. It's a huge price both when they die in war and even when they come back alive. The toll it takes on lives can be a huge lifetime burden.

Interesting you should say all this, because as I was typing the list of my family members on the other thread, I was very much considering how differently I might feel if they had not come back alive.

We worry, fret, pray, support, etc. while they are gone, and so far all have come back alive, but changed for the rest of their lives. Not so for those and the families of those I watched on the memorial tributes today.

Nice to hear how you are honoring your father.

J.

[dmiller]

I've got an Aunt and Uncle buried at Arlington. They managed to survive WWII.

They finally succumbed to life itself. I wish I were closer to where they are.

I would do the same, Geo.

[year2027]

God first

Beloved George Aar

God loves you my dear friend

My Dad was in V. N. I can not spell it but I think you will understand

Because of Agent Orange his health has been bad for years but I still have him

So I in part know what your saying

So I will just pray and Meditate on the ones who gave their life for us

thank you

with love and a holy kiss blowing your way Roy