Thinking this morning of soldiers I have known in my life, particularly of two young men with whom I went through basic training – they did not return from Vietnam.
As Binyon wrote in September 1914 looking out on to the Atlantic –
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
—- — —
In the 20th century, I can name fourteen close family members who served in the US military – all but one of whom returned alive, some with the troubles war impresses upon a man or woman.
Those who chose or were chosen to serve, did so to honor a sense of what a person owes as a citizen, It is the responsibility of the government to ensure those wars are just and worthy – everything is changed by war and where one is fought there is chaos, dread and destruction both immediate and for decades thereafter. And it is the responsibility of a democratic people to elect a government aware of such a responsibility.
Note : I feel as I read of the turbulence of these times as if my thoughts arose from one of the characters in a long work I am writing. Set in 1919.
east of the fog 