They May Have Died In Vain But They Lived In Honor

Thanks for the remembrance. Memorial Day is always a sad time to me. The NY Times had this really moving story showing how meticulous the bodies of deceased soldiers at the morgue at Dover were dressed in their uniform for the final goodbye from family. These young soldiers often unrecognizable, yet their uniforms were prepared with the most arduous care. So sad and yet inspiring. War is such a terrible thing. We have made grivious errors, at least to me--The mistakes of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

When I was a young soldier in Vietnam, I had to go to Dover, DE. as I was escorting a soldier in my unit for burial in his hometown. I will say this for the military: they spare no effort to honor our dead in war and they rightly should. At Dover, I was overwhelmed by it all.

My thoughts in our history of not making the best decisions, there should be a "Dover" test. Caring Americans (and not all Americans care) need to feel that our soldiers who end up at Dover--killed in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan did not die in vain. I am not sure we can do that but what we can assert: THEY MAY HAVE DIED IN VAIN BUT THEY LIVED IN HONOR. Sergeant Phil Woodall, in his book of poetry, Rhymer In The Sunset.