Gentlemen, We Are All Descended From Soldiers

ToogoodReports ^ | Memorial Day - Monday, May 27, 2002 | Gerald L. Rowles, Ph.D.

[Starmaker]

It's been said to the point of cliché that Freedom is not free. The fight for freedom is the fire that burns in the soul of America. It is the burning light of Lady Liberty's torch held aloft. It is the signal fire that draws immigrants from all points of the globe. In the mind of every young gentleman is the awareness that America may call upon her sons to rekindle that fire, or prohibit its detractors from extinguishing its flame.

Those men who are rightly called our forefathers lit the torch with the flint of resolve and the kindling of a desire to freely pursue a dream that was to become America. Through their paternity, a legacy of freedom and the mandate to fight for its protection was born.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr, speaking to Harvard graduating class on May 30, 1895 captured the essence of that legacy:

"Behind every scheme to make the world over, lies the question, What kind of world do you want? The ideals of the past for men have been drawn from war, as those for women have been drawn from motherhood. For all our prophecies, I doubt if we are ready to give up our inheritance. Who is there who would not like to be thought a gentleman? Yet what has that name been built on but the soldier's choice of honor rather than life? To be a soldier or descended from soldiers, in time of peace to be ready to give one's life rather than suffer disgrace, that is what the word has meant; and if we try to claim it at less cost than a splendid carelessness for life, we are trying to steal the good will without the responsibilities of the place."

From Valley Forge to Desert Storm, America has been bred and sustained by its front-line gentleman soldiers. The history of their prodigious sacrifice to a proud, vital legacy is writ larger than life:

Revolutionary War	200,000 enrolled	10,623 dead & wounded
War of 1812	286,000 enrolled	6,765 dead & wounded
Mexican War	78,700 enrolled	17,435 dead & wounded
Spanish-American War	306,800 enrolled	4,108 dead & wounded
World War I	4,743,800 enrolled	320,518 dead & wounded
World War II	16,353,700 enrolled	1,077,245 dead & wounded
Korean War	5,764,100 enrolled	157,530 dead & wounded
Vietnam War	8,744,000 enrolled	243,501 dead & wounded
Gulf War	2,750,000 enrolled	1,766 dead & wounded
Total All Wars	39,227,100 enrolled	1,839,489 dead & wounded

More than 39 million gentlemen, soldiers, are being renowned this Memorial Day; forefathers to us all. Looking back on the cost of maintaining freedom brings a new sobriety to the notion that freedom is indeed not free. Each of our forbearers, in defending the legacy of freedom, of America, faced a 1 in 20 chance of sacrificing either life or limb with splendid carelessness.

"A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle."
— Gloria Steinem

Consider carefully that legacy during the 364 days in-between that have become carelessly infused with the disgraceful notion that "masculinity" has become a "bad smell in the room" (Time, 2/14/1994).

What kind of world do you want? Isn't it more authentic, more honorable, more palatable, more responsible, more fruitful, to value those splendid gentlemen, soldiers, from whom we are all descended — every day?

To comment on this article or express your opinion directly to the author, you are invited to e-mail Dr. Rowles at glrowles@earthlink.net .

[joesnuffy]

“It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.” — Charles M. Province

[Junior]

Sorry, dude, but my family has always produced sailors.

[Northern Yankee]

Thank you!

No truer words were spoken.

A crisp salute to you!

[Justanumba]

What kind of world do you want? Isn't it more authentic, more honorable, more palatable, more responsible, more fruitful, to value those splendid gentlemen, soldiers, from whom we are all descended — every day?

Believe me, as a woman and a patriot, I value those men and thank God for them everyday. Idiots that do not, are just that, idiots.

Just a note, Gloria Steinem got married. Guess the fish needed a bicycle. Can't say I envy the bicycle...:-)

[Grampa Dave]

God Bless our military men/women from pre Revolutionary Days to today.

However, the cold reality is that during the Revolutionary War, before it and after it, only about 1/3 of those living in those 13 Colonies supported the revolution and the new country.

1/3 was loyal to Britain and the king before, during and after the war.

Another 1/3 was too gutless to declare for either side. The early ancestors of moderates. My grandfather said these were the Americans who wore out the croutches of their pants straddling the fences of right and wrong.

However, that 1/3 who wanted liberty, and then the about 5-10% of them whom, became soldiers, sailors and members of the militia are the real Patriot heroes. They fought the war and made the sacrifices for the other 2/3's then, and for the rest of us to inherit.

This Memorial Day those of us who descended from that 1/3 or have adopted their love of this country offer our thanks to those who served, suffered and died for our current liberties. Hopefully, we will see more Americans adopt that love of this country and respect/honor the sacrifice that all American Military people have made for all of us.