Let's Not Forget

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Let's Not Forget

Honoring our Veterans - and Those Who Follow

By U.S. Rep. John Hostettler Nov. 9, 2001

They stand as relics of a forgotten war. Quonset huts, which 50 years ago housed American troops during the Korean conflict, still line the southern edge of the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea.

They have not been preserved as historical monuments to a hot spot in the Cold War. These huts continue to house men and women of our armed services who could be the grandchildren of the original occupants.

When I visited U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula in August, I was struck by living conditions that bordered on squalor. In one of the living quarters, two creative servicewomen had rigged cake pans and coat hangers to catch moisture coming through the vents. Throughout the barracks, soldiers would engage in weekly "painting parties" where scrapers and brushes were employed in a futile battle against mildew growing on the walls.

How is this relevant on a day set aside for honoring our nation's veterans? Simply put, I believe that one of the best ways to honor our veterans is to make sure that those who follow in their footsteps have the resources they need to survive and become the living veterans of tomorrow.

The living conditions of our uniformed personnel in Korea offer proof that we have failed to adequately provide for our armed services. The men and women serving in the U.S. military have frequently been underpaid, overextended and forced to live in substandard housing. They have been forced to train with simulators because live ammunition has not been made available. Fighter jets have been grounded, and warships docked, because they have been cannibalized for spare parts.

These are all serious problems, but not just for our military. Taken together they create an atmosphere that poses a real danger to our families, our communities and our way of life.

As I returned from my trip to the Far East, I was more convinced than ever that our military weaknesses projected a lack of national resolve to our enemies. I felt sure that if those who hate America sensed that we are weak, complacent and irresolute they would in turn become emboldened and seek to cause us harm.

Unfortunately, the attacks of September 11 revealed just how bold our opponents had become - and how unprepared we were to stop them.

Now I have complete faith in the courage and resolve of our fighting forces who will execute this war. Like those Americans who fought before them, they are willing to do what it takes to end the threat we face from the forces of terror.

But, as General George Patton said, "[R]emember that no [one] ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other [guy] die for his country." We can best serve the next generation of veterans by giving them the resources and tools they need to fight and win - and live to be honored in Veterans Day parades 50 years from now.

The veterans we honor today did not fight so that America could become lazy and indifferent. They fought to preserve our liberty and keep America strong. The veterans who sacrificed their lives in previous wars did not do so in order for some hate-filled, delusional cave dwellers to attack our cities and kill our people. They fought to send a message to the world that America will never allow tyrants and madmen to threaten our freedom.

September 11 served to remind us - as past wars have taught us - that perceived national weakness encourages hostility. We do not maintain a strong military in order to defeat our enemies. We maintain a strong military to deter our enemies from striking in the first place.

Those who served and died for their country have a right to expect much more from us. If we want to honor our veterans, we must make sure that our fighting forces are the very best in the world. That way, the descendants of our veterans will continue to live in the freedom for which they fought.

It all began in 1862, during the Civil War, when a Union Army captain, Robert Ellicombe, was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia. The Confederate Army was on the other side of this narrow strip of land. During the night, Capt. Ellicombe heard the moan of a soldier who lay mortally wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the captain decided to risk his life and bring back the stricken man for medical attention.

Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the captain reached the soldier and began pulling him back toward his encampment. When the captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.

The captain lit a lantern, suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light of the lantern he saw the face of the soldier ... it was his own son! The young man had been studying music in the South when the war broke out, and without telling his father, he had enlisted in the Confederate Army.

The following morning, the heartbroken father asked permission of his supervisors to give his son a full military burial, despite the young man's enemy status. The captain's request was partially granted.

He asked if he could have a group of army band members play a dirge for his son at the funeral. His request was refused since the soldier was a Confederate.

Out of respect for the captain, they said they could loan him one musician. He chose the bugler.

The captain asked him to play a series of musical notes found in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted. That music was the haunting bugle melody we now know as "Taps."

"Rest on embalmed and sainted dead,

Dear is the blood you gave

No impious footstep here shall tread

The herbage of your grave

Nor shall your glory be forgot

While Fame her record keeps,

For honor points the hallowed spot

Where valor proudly sleeps."

From "Bivouac Of The Dead" by Theodore O'Hara

Fading light dims the sight,

And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.

From afar drawing nigh-Falls the night

Day is done, gone the sun,

From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.

All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Then good night, peaceful night.Till the light of the dawn shineth bright,God is near, do not fear-Friend, good night.

"Taps"Composed by Major General Daniel Butterfield, Army of the Potomac, Civil War

Lincoln's Letter To Mrs. Bixby

Abraham Lincoln

1864

Executive Mansion, Washington, November 21, 1864.

Mrs. Bixby Boston, Massachusetts:

Dear Mrs. Bixby I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I, feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should, attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found, in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our, Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave, you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the, altar of freedom.

Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

Abraham Lincoln