Memorial Day this year has special significance. It's the 50th anniversary as an official national holiday dedicated to honor those who have died in service to their country. As such it is among our most solemn of holidays.
Yet this year there are two great events to actually celebrate. First, after 20 long years all our troops will finally be home from Afghanistan!
I have shared before on these pages my thoughts on the futility and senselessness of nearly all wars and especially this latest one, the longest in our history. As a retired officer with 28 years of service and a participant in three wars I feel some license to do so. At the same time, I pay the highest honor to my fellow vets and current members of the military who have sacrificed so much for so long.
Welcome home, troops!
Also this Memorial Day we have something else to recognize. While we pay homage to those who have served in the military it is also important this year to remember the thousands of grandparents, parents, siblings, spouses and children who died in a war against a silent, remorseless enemy as deadly as any we have ever fought.
This pandemic has been a terrible challenge yet it also offered the rest of us a unique chance to step up much as our military does when called. In a very real sense, this past year we civilians were given the opportunity to play a somewhat similar role when we were all called to battle in a once-a-century war.
Like our military, we rose to the occasion — and the end of this war is also now in sight.
I want to express my gratitude to my fellow Minnesotans who were trying to do the difficult but right things throughout this terrible ordeal, as our troops do. Obviously, it's not a perfect comparison. But nearly every American family made large and difficult changes that upended their lives. Also we had a relatively small group of individuals (many of whom are among our lowest-paid workers) who trudged to work in person every day — at great risk to themselves — to feed, clothe and care for us and our most vulnerable citizens.
In addition, most of us accepted many new and uncomfortable public behaviors simply to protect our relatives and neighbors. And we can't forget the countless millions of jobs and businesses across the country that were forfeit in this war — while most of us were able to continue working.
Finally, like those in the military who make the ultimate sacrifice, we saw thousands of health care providers give their lives while trying to save others. As with the military, there is no sufficient way of repaying that sacrifice.
So, on the 50th anniversary of this usually stern holiday, and even as we mourn those we have lost, there is much to be grateful for. As important, I hope we have all learned – or relearned — an important lesson from this experience. There is always hope if we have perseverance and are willing to sacrifice for a cause larger than self.
Finally, as we bask in the joy that two wars are finally ending, I hope we can keep alive the hope that one day we will no longer need a Memorial Day for any further wars.
God bless America.
D. Roger Pederson lives in Minneapolis.