Dear Unknown Soldier
I am writing this letter to you, dear soldier, to ask for your forgiveness.
As we each take a moment of silence on Memorial Day we will remember the millions of brave and gallant soldiers who fought for our freedom and we will thank them for their courage and their sacrifice.
We will attempt to imagine what their sacrifice must have been like -- the days in the trenches, the constant ring of gunshots, the blast of bombs and buzz of fighter planes. We will consider life on the frontline caked in mud and blood, watching soldiers fall around us. We will try to comprehend the death and destruction in a constant ring of hell. We attempt to imagine the barbaric realities of war, the starving prisoners, the homeless, parentless children, the wounded and dying young men and women. And we will try to understand the pain of knowing we may never see our children or our families again.
You, Unknown Soldier, can help me to understand for your sacrifice was a huge one.
Your bravery and courage has gone without its medal and without a grave to bear its cross. You selflessly gave your namesake to preserve a way of life and now you stand valiantly amongst the poppies as a statue of honor, courage and of freedom.
We will never fully understand your suffering, your heartache and will never even know your identity. You could have been a father, a brother, a son, a grandfather, a nephew -- you could have even been me.
But, dear soldier, I write to tell you that you do have an identity and perhaps one of the most honorable. You represent each and every soldier gone before and those who came after. You represent freedom and peace for me and my neighbors. You represent a life of honor, courage and bravery.
And so, as I pause in two minutes of silent tribute I will no longer call you Unknown Soldier, for you have a name -- thousands of them. You are using each one of ours.
Lest we forget. . .Renowned Soldier.
Cindy Ballance
