As I write this Memorial Day is coming to an end. Yet those who fought and died in our nation’s many wars will be remembered forever by their loved ones and will continue to be honored by a grateful nation for their service on behalf of the rest of us. Having never fought in a war, I cannot imagine what it is like to face each day readying yourself for battle. Nor can I imagine what it was like for the many who until the draft ended after Viet Nam went to war because their government required them to do so.
When I went to college the draft was still in place, but I was given a student deferment by my local draft board once I certified that I was a full time student. Later when I decided to enter the ministry I received yet another deferment. Our involvement in Viet Nam was limited at the time so it wasn’t an issue I thought much about when I received my deferment. But by the time I finished college and entered seminary it was. It eventually claimed one of my friends. His name was Bobby Unrue. He was a teammate of mine on our high school football team. He was a good running back, tough and quiet, a nice guy all of us liked a lot. Many times since then I have run my fingers across his name that is on the wall of the Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington.
I have often wondered what my life would have been like had I not gone to college, or I had not entered the ministry. With a father who spent eleven years in the army and was as rabid a West Point football fan as there was, military service was always something I figured I would do at some point. Then Viet Nam happened and war protests eventually led to the draft system being changed to a national lottery. As luck or fate would have it, my name never came up. Then the draft was ended entirely. Going to college was something I wanted to do, and something my parents expected my brothers and me to do. But we had to have scholarship help or it was a no go. I often wonder what I would have done had I not received one. Would I have opted for the army in hopes of the G.I. Bill paying for it later? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that if I had done the latter I would have probably ended up in Viet Nam.
Even as we remember all the people who have died in war, it seems to me that genuinely honoring them would include asking ourselves why at this point in history we continue to believe war solves problems, rather than seeing war as part of the problem. It is in fact the clearest symbol I know of the insanity of which human beings are capable. I recognize that nations can be drawn into wars they do not want to fight. That happened to the U.S. in both world wars, especially WW II. But it seems we as a people have become all too quick to think of war as a viable alternative to international problems. It was only a few weeks ago that Congressional leaders were insisting that our nation go to war with Syria, this while we are still in Afghanistan (for a reason no one seems to know) and also residually involved in Iraq, a war that should have never been fought. What is more, as a nation we seem to have accepted the notion that we should be in a perpetual state of war with terrorism.
The one thing history seems to show repeatedly is that people never think about the awfulness of war until it is too late. Southerners let out a rebel cry when the Civil War started. By the end the toll was devastating, including more than 600,000 American deaths. WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan – they all had the same end. Maybe it’s time for us as a people to listen to calmer heads when war talk starts, to remember that war never ends war, but lays the groundwork for another one. Maybe it’s time we as a people honor those who have fought and died, not by arming ourselves to the teeth as if that makes any sense, but by learning the ways of peacemaking, by trying to build bridges of understanding, by seeing children as deserving to have a chance to live a full life. That, I suggest, would be the best Memorial we could possibly offer in honor of those who have already fought and died in too many wars.
linnposts.com 
I absolutely agree with you.
Yes, ending war would be the best Memorial we could ever come up with. I think war has been, is ,and always will be, the stupidest of all mankind’s activities. I also think Gen Patton was right when he said that WWII was the last good war. It had a clear beginning, a known purpose, and a clear ending. I can’t think of any “war” since that has had those characteristics.
I hope that America has learned through Iraq, Vietnam, and our other misadventures to stay out of foreign entanglements, but I wouldn’t bet on it. George Washington told us that a couple centuries ago, but we seem to have forgotten. I think that the decision to go to war needs to be firmly put back into Congress, where our founders put it.
As far as I can tell, no war America has been involved in, outside of WWII, has ever been of any value. And they all have had horrible costs. The Protestants and Catholics in Ireland decided a few years that killing each other wasn’t much fun anymore.,and quit. I hope the rest of the world will figure the same thing out soon.
Jan,
That is powerful! Thanks for sharing
Jack Becker
Meaningful for us both to read after spending the day at the National Mall Memorial Day Parade among so many wounded Vets / families. We had never attended ( after living in DC for 25 yrs) and it seemed like the right thing to expose the children to. Collin asked if we would see folks from church ( knowing our opposition to war) and I assured him that it was a day to celebrate service not war. I am really glad we went and that I met an Desert Storm vet who rode a motorcycle 22 hr from your home….Minnesota. Seeing the parade through his eyes softened my heart and affirmed my opposition to war. Dixcy
If we would learn for ourselves and teach our youth the truth of why we go to war perhaps they wouldn’t volunteer their bodies toward the profoundly awful ends that they pay the highest price for. War is about money and power! In his 1935 book “War is a Racket” Maj. Gen. S. D. Butler (WWI Commander) stated he’d helped to create 21,000 new US millionaires and billionares. He included a chart of the pre-war vs. the intra-war profits of over a dozen corporations showing increases as high as 1800%! After the war he gave 1200 speeches in 700 cities describing the geopolitical reasons for war and advocated the only two viable reasons for it were either the defence of our homes or the Bill of Rights. We know WMDs were a lie as was the Gulf of Tonkin and that the Japanese were badgered into their attack. These and more are history! What makes anyone think 911 wasn’t either? Building 7 fell straight to the ground just like the towers, 8 hours later, no planes! Now we have perpetual war. The bankers and corporate suppliers are in green heaven! Let us acknowledge the truth, teach our children and dry up the supply of human capital that feeds this awful machine!
In response to Robert Hatch: You have it right on the head! I wish the world would read your comment. Good Job! Thank You!
Bldg 7 is a mystery to me. I wonder if the truth will ever be known on that one.
For Wally Emerson: Thank you for your kind words. Retirement has given me time to entertain my curiosities, seek information. Some of what I find is quite troubling, such as what I wrote here, because it represents a ponderously slow learning curve for human kind! How much different, in terms of how people view one another and interact, is our empire from Rome? I am encouraged that ordinary people on every continent are protesting their own “status quos”; more are seeing the exploitation and plunder! Spiritually, I am also constantly humbled at the love and patience Jesus showed us during His time here. In blogs such as Jans and through other shared communications we can increase our awareness, pass it along and eventually our progeny can act in ways that represent the potential Jesus saw in us. Again, thank you and be well.