It was a lovely drive up Kansas Highway 5 to Leavenworth in the convertible. As I arrived at the Leavenworth National Cemetery to visit my brother’s grave, the massive flags at the entrance and tiny flags on each grave was a somber sight. My brother served in Vietnam instead of me, and his death last October at the tender age of 57 was way too soon. Yet his struggle with PTSD, alcohol, Agent Orange and the amputation of his leg was just too much to over come.
Yes he was active in veteran rights, and a tireless supporter of General Wesley Clark. His brilliant mind was an asset to every political contest he worked with, but in the end it was not enough. He never received a penny in disability payments and it would have been at least two years before his VA appeal would have been heard. He deserved better than a small plot of ground, a headstone and a flag.
I am a patriotic American. My family has ample military sacrifices. In addition to my brother, my father received the Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII. Four uncles served as enlisted men and three retired at the rank of Colonel or above.
But WWII was a different war. The USA was brutally attacked by countries that wanted to conquer us and was nearly able to accomplish their goals. During the brutal fighting in both the European and Pacific theaters, there was a great possibility that we would lose. Most people don’t realize that this was a war that very well could have been lost. But the military was supported by the War effort back here in the states. Families endured rationing, planted victory gardens and bought war bonds. Women went to work in factories and our domestic production was turned over to the war effort. WWII was literally a fight for our lives that my generation cannot relate to.
Once numbering almost 16 million strong, World War II veterans are dying at a rate of a 1,000 per day. Veterans Cemeteries like the one at Leavenworth are filling up at an astonishing rate and those of us who are too young to experience WWII should understand how grave the situation was and how great our sacrifice was during this conflict.
But we should never equate patriotism with militarism. My grandmothers who sent their seven sons to fight in WWII were just as patriotic as those who fought and died. My Grandfather who administered a rations board served an unpopular but vital patriotic duty. But patriotism is not militarism. WWII was forced upon us; Korea, Vietnam and now Iraq were measured decisions of our politicians.
It is not patriotic to start wars that have no definition and no definition of success. I thought we learned this during the Vietnam conflict. Never again would we allow old rich men to send poor young men and women to fight wars without it being the last resort. Never again would we engage an enemy in combat without obtaining a clear military victory, and never again would we enter a war without the sacrifice being worth the price.
Consider this parable of Jesus recorded in Luke 14:28-32
"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, `This man began to build and was not able to finish.' "Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? "Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
Doesn’t this sound exactly like what George W. Bush did? He set out to make war without a plan, without even the ability to count the costs that he recklessly racked up. I’m all for bringing Osama Bin Laden or any one else who participated in 9/11 to justice. I’ll even go as far as agreeing that those who enable our sworn enemies are our enemies. But when this President found that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction and really posed no direct threat to the United States, he concocted a notion that we could have a Global War on Terror based in Iraq. What is a War on Terror? How does he define "terror," and most importantly how do you defeat "terror?" Is this like our endless "War on Drugs" or the "War on Poverty?"
I think of Pat Tillman who willingly gave up a multi million-dollar career playing football to answer the call of his President. Because of his patriotism he believed in the cause he was asked to perform. He answered the call of duty and will always be remembered for his patriotism and sacrifice. He didn’t question why at first, but simply obeyed. Only after he was deployed into the thick of the war did he come to believe that his government was being dishonest. My brother, while in the jungles of Vietnam, understood the deception and dishonesty of that Commander in Chief. Pat Tillman was shot by his own and his mother lied to; my brother took almost 40 years to die of his wounds.
This Memorial Day we honor the great sacrifices of those who served and died. There will be disagreement on the value of particular conflicts as they relate to the history of this nation but there is no debate that those who answered the called of duty are worth of honor and respect.
They are also due more than lip service. Returning veterans are due the finest medical care available for their wounds. Some wounds are visible but in this was with such long deployment times many wounds are mental and emotional. The families of deployed veterans are due support before and after the veteran returns. Educational benefits better than even those enjoyed by returning WWII vets should not have to be debated.
Patriotism demands that we honor our veterans with more than a plot of ground in a VA cemetery and a headstone. Patriotism calls all of us to demand that wars are not waged where we have not counted the cost and determined that war is our only option.