Pause and Remember
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4367
There are few things more
soul-stirring than to see veterans salute the flag they have honored and
defended. Their salute reflects the kind of knowledge that can come
only from experience, the humble pride born of defending the cause of
liberty. To them, that flag represents freedom and duty, love of
country, the fellowship and sacrifice of companions in a worthy cause,
and a sure awareness of what makes this country great.
It is good to pause and remember,
however, that too many of their companions did not survive long enough
to be veterans. Theirs was the ultimate sacrifice. And it is well to set
aside a day in their honor, to reflect on the cost of the freedoms we
enjoy, to remember those who have sacrificed for our safety and
well-being. If we truly remember and honor them, then the price they
paid shall not have been in vain.
It is also well to consider, on our
day of remembrance, the sacrifices of the loved ones of these heroes—the
parents and spouses, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters who
tearfully but proudly bid farewell to their soldiers, never again to see
them in this life.
As Richard L. Evans observed decades
ago on this broadcast: "Those who have been deprived of the association
of their loved ones, need no day of special reminder. For them every day
brings its own reminder. And to you for whom Memorial Day is a day of
deep personal loss and of fresh sorrow: may He who gave us life give
also to your troubled hearts His assurance of the reality that life is
eternal, and that there is no one from whom we have parted here whom we
may not know and cherish and live with yet again.”1
1 Tonic for Our Times (1952), 204.
No comments:
Post a Comment