A Lakewood Memorial Day Reflection...

[Gary Rice]

Good Friends in Lakewood Land:

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced...." Abraham Lincoln: The Gettysburg Address. 19 November, 1863

The once-golden fields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania were no longer all that golden. Just months before, they had been raked by brutal cannon and musket fire, in one of the most significant battles of the American Civil War. As the cool winds of autumn brought those ubiquitous cumulus clouds over the low foothills, west of the town, those same winds brought with them the rains that finished what the cannon balls had begun; turning parts of that once placid farmland into pools of oozing fetid black and bloody mud.

A number of the estimated seven to eight thousand bodies of the men who had so recently perished there were still in the process of reburial. Evidence of war's carnage could still be discovered; from rotting pieces of horseflesh, to the shattered canteens, muskets, and occasional body parts of the fallen.

The weather however, was reportedly fine that November morning, and in any case, would have in no way interfered with the quiet dignity of the flag-draped ceremony that was transpiring in the newly created, soon-to-be-dedicated, 17 acre National Cemetery. The principal scheduled speaker was former United States Senator Edward Everett, and he actually delivered the longest speech of the day; lasting around two hours. He was followed by the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's speech lasted barely two minutes, and the President at the time allegedly felt that it had been a failure, as it reportedly received barely polite applause at its conclusion, and endured bitter criticism, later in the press.

As we know today, it was not a failure.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is perhaps the best known speech in history. So much of our national purpose, future dreams, and purely patriotic ideals are contained in its brief message, along with, so much remembrance of those who gave their lives in the defense of American liberty.

One could say that Gettysburg's remembrance ceremony on that day presented the first template for post-war observances that would later mark established Memorial Day observances. Sadly however, while the Gettysburg observance was being held, the Civil War was still being fought, and would continue on for two more years.

After the Civil War, in towns across this country, people constructed monuments and cemeteries honoring those who had fought in that war, and held similar ceremonies to honor their fallen sons.

America’s Memorial Day is clearly an occasion to remember our fallen soldiers. At the same time, as Lincoln stated so well, it is for us, the living, to advance the cause of government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". That has not been easy to achieve. Now, as then, there continues to be bitter disagreement in our country, often leading to many no-compromise discussions, but as for our honored dead... They well know where that kind of no-compromise talk can lead to. It leads, of course, (and all too often) to the hallowed ground where they repose. Conflicts, after all, are the absolute antithesis of compromise.

Yes indeed, we rightfully remember our soldiers, and yet...from their graves, our honored dead would seem to plead with us for the cause of finding a better way to solve arguments, than with their lives.

It is not the military that sends people off to war. We the people do that. The military simply responds to their time-honored call to protect and serve with duty, honor, and patriotism. That is their job. It is stated in their oath that they are to defend us from "all enemies foreign and domestic". Our military must be honored for their service, and their dead need to be especially honored and remembered forever... and not just on Memorial Day either.

My dear late father and Lakewood educator, Robert Rice, was also a WWII era U.S.Army musician. He always felt that his oath of enlistment had no expiration date. As a prolific musician, arranger and songwriter, Dad developed a replicative harmonic arranging system for Army bands, allowing all parts of a score (melody and harmonies) to be replicated throughout a marching unit, so that all parts could be heard equally from any position in the field, and also, so that small groups of Army musicians could later break off and perform in area hospitals in an eclectic variety of combo sizes, and having mixed instrumentation. (but still being able to perform a complete arrangement)

When Dad was in his 90’s, he and I collaborated on writing a band march for America’s veterans called “The American Veterans Last Salute”. On the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, we were invited to the Washington D.C. area, in order to conduct and perform our march with the American Festival Pops Orchestra. We received official flags that were flown over Harrisburg Pennsylvania, and our nation’s capital, and we also honored by receiving Congressional recognition for our efforts to honor America’s veterans.

Dad’s service truly never ended, and now, it continues today:

"Will You Buy Just One Poppy From Me?" is another song honoring America’s veterans that was written in 1994 by Dad and me to remember our missing and fallen on Memorial Day, and also to draw attention to the little red memorial poppies that are offered through the American Legion Auxiliary. On the 100th anniversary of Poppy Day, (yesterday) our dear friends Rick and Cindy Benjamin presented that song in a fine YouTube performance that I’ll link here for you:

https://youtu.be/1U-seSj6-zo

Let’s hear it loud and strong for America’s veterans, both living and deceased! We owe them more than we could ever repay.
You are right Dad. Your service truly has no expiration date.

Gary Rice (Photo: Dad at 94)