I know it's difficult to simultaneously celebrate and entertain sobering thoughts but we really have an obligation to give some time remembering the real reason we set aside this day on the calendar.  Someone, somewhere, on a lonely beach or a foreign battlefield decided that you and I had a right to enjoy liberty so much so that they were willing to lay down their life defending that freedom.  It's important to understand that fact today.  This freedom wasn't free.  The price was staggering and cannot be measured in dollars and cents.

A father lost a son who one day might have become the doctor who developed the cure for cancer.  A daughter lost her mother who was her sole source of support.  Lovers had their plans for a lifetime together torn apart.  Tears have been shed and silent pain has ached within hearts of many family members and friends who will never again spend time with someone they loved.  This happened not because a random virus attacked their loved one - not because someone made a tragic error in judgment driving their car in busy traffic.  This happened by choice - the choice of someone willing to sacrifice their most precious possession for people they may never knew. This happened for you and me. 

I have a friend who was a navy pilot who once shared a story about a friend of his who died in an accident on a carrier ship.  It wasn't during a time of war.  It didn't happen because an enemy had attacked the ship.  A cable simply snapped under stress during a landing on deck and the line hit his friend with a devastating force.  The young man died instantaneously.  He was nineteen years old.  The reason I remember the story was because of a simple but profound statement made by my friend who saw the accident take place.  He simply said, "We lost someone almost every time the ship sailed." 

Think about that!

In peacetime and war, it makes no difference - every time a ship leaves port - every time a unit is deployed - virtually every time there is a major military maneuver anywhere - someone gives their life.  They chose to take that ominous risk and they did so because they felt it was worth it for us to live this wondrous experience of freedom.  It is important to keep that fact in mind on this day we set aside to remember those we have lost.  This is especially true during a time when we are embroiled in what some people call, "An unpopular war".  In fact the term, "Unpopular War" is a gross over simplification of the real issues.  I should hope that every war would be "Unpopular".  The real issue is the fact that freedom bears a huge price tag, even in peacetime.  You cannot simply join with the crowd to argue the virtues or lack there of in a given conflict and use that argument to justify ignoring the sacrifices paid by your fellow citizens who gave their lives to give you the freedom to have your opinion.  Freedom and the price to enjoy it, has to be valued at a more personal level.  Every person who is a part of our nation's military knew when they signed up that their decision might require the cost of their life.  Few of us are ever asked to make that choice. And that choice alone is worthy of our honor and respect. 

In the past few years approximately five thousand of our fellow citizens have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.  They did so doing what we asked them to do.  We asked them to follow the decisions of the leaders that we elected.  We sent them.  They served our decisions and they gave their lives doing so.  We didn't ask them to make the difficult political decisions that led them into conflict.  In a very real sense, our fallen served our choices - even if it required them to sacrifice their very life to do so.  And, they are joined by the countless others who serve us throughout the world - many of whom likewise gave their lives on carrier ships and in practice maneuvers on countless bases that exist because freedom is not free.  Many, many more have sacrificed in other ways - in injuries that they will have to endure for the rest of their lives, in the loss of time from their loved ones at home, in the time they missed with their children while they were away.  They made these sacrifices because we said they were needed to protect us.  They did this for us.

Today we are called upon to honor them and to pause for a moment to reflect on the pain of their families and friends who miss them dearly.  Today is our sacrifice for them.  Our President asked us to pause today for moment of remembrance at 3:00 PM.  It is a very small price to pay in light of the sacrifices they made.  Remember those who gave their lives. Pray for their families and friends who have experienced this loss for us. Pray that God would continue to protect us in the future and lead us  in this tenuous endeavor to form "a more perfect union". 

And then celebrate... for even the time of our backyard barbecues is also, in a strange sort of way, a worthy memorial.  For these times of gathering together are also represent a memorial to those who gave so much.  In a sense they are likewise an unspoken prayer. "We are still free! Thank God, we are still free!"

May God bless America.

Blessings,
Steven Phillips