“Where do we get such men? They leave this ship and they do their job. Then they must find this speck lost somewhere on the sea. When they find it, they have to land on its pitching deck. Where do we get such men?"
Rear Admiral George Tarrant in “The Bridges at Toko-Ri”
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One of the best things about Memorial Day weekend is that there is a non-stop flow of classic military movies on TV that take me back to my youth and remind me of why I was so drawn to serve in the military in the first place. This year is no exception and I caught bits and pieces of one of my favorites, “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” based upon James Michener’s classic novel of the same name about the Korean War and the lives of a few men who selflessly served in that conflict.
I am unapologetically patriotic about America, and what this country represents. Not patriotic in the Toby Keith, “we’ll kick your ass” sort of way, nor do I allow my love of America to blind me from all the challenges and hypocrisies that exist in this country. I often worry that as we get further from the founding of America that we don’t allow the various layers of abstraction to dilute the values upon which our fore Fathers created this great country.
Soon after September 11, 2001 as we as a Country were struggling to regain our footing after the impact of the terrorist attacks, I dug back into researching the process which took place at the founding of America and the challenges that the Founder’s faced (see my typelist of some recommended books). I was struck how similar the core tensions were to today's: the heterogeneity of our country’s population and the varied interests inherent in this diversity, the role of America in the global context, and how to ensure that “freedom and liberty for all” truly meant equally opportunity for everyone.
I remain troubled by the separation of the classes in this country, and that most people who serve in the military are not from the families who have gained the most from America’s freedoms. I worry that the machinery that runs our country seems so distant from the people whom they represent, and from the Troops they send to fight in far away places. This morning, I found myself remembering my many friends who have given their lives in these faraway places and thus was particularly ponderous about America and our future. I live in Lexington, MA which is a mecca of American History so one does not have to go far to connect with our roots and thus I went for a drive. I soon found myself sipping my Starbucks coffee, driving along the Battle Road from Lexington to Concord with my convertible top down and XM Radio jamming. I passed dozens on multi-million dollar houses that now adorn this historical route and I could not help but note the irony in all the materialism that this cruising represented.
Had I gotten too soft? Would I still be willing to strap on a jet and go launching off into the night only to have to return again to the pitching deck? Would I still be willing to “give my all” for America? As importantly, do we have enough young people who are willing to don the military uniform to do their part in service of our country? Do we have enough young people who are willing to commit to a life of teaching, public service, or working with the homeless when the riches are elsewhere?
Notably, this Memorial Day weekend also represents the passing of one of our modern era’s great Americans, David Hackworth. Colonel Hackworth is as notable for what he did since leaving the military as he is for his remarkably heroic legacy in uniform. He loved this country enough to both fight for it, and to fight against it’s complacency and diffusive use of military might in foreign policy.
Colonel Hackworth showed that there are many ways to serve, in and out of uniform. On this Memorial Day, join me in asking yourself what you can do to serve the greater good with your time and talents, and then commit a meaningful amount of both to that pursuit.
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