An Un-Ending Chain

One of the least desireable aspects of my job is that it requires me to travel way too much. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have employment in these troubled times that enables me to support my family and enjoy some of the comforts of life. But it would be nice to spend more time at home with Natalie and the kids.

Nevertheless, there are aspects of traveling that make airports, long flights, and lonely hotel rooms a little more tolerable. There is the benefit of piling up frequent flier miles and the award of free hotel nights to occassionally treat the family to a get away. The real perk, however, is that every now and then I get to go places that give me a much clearer perspective on life, and help me to better understand just how blessed we truly are in this day and age.

I never intended this blog to become a travel log of my business trips. But despite the past two posts, one about a visit to Valley Forge and the other describing my Constitution Day trip to Indepence Hall in Philadelphia, please indulge me just one more time to briefly recount three other recent trips that have had a profound impact on me.

Two weeks ago I had to travel to the Philippine Islands for meetings with prospective clients. While it is always interesting to travel internationally, there is one attraction in Manila that I've wanted to see, but did not get the chance in previous visits to the country. That is the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. This cemetary is the burial site of 17,202 members of the U.S. military killed in action during World War II. There is also a monument at the site memorializing another 36,285 soldiers who were lost in the war, but whose remains were never recovered for burial.

I have had much to say in previous blog posts about the tremendous sacrifices made by the courageous men and women who rebelled from a tyrannical government to acheive our indepence. Their nobility will be diminished neither by time nor the apathy of successive generations. As much as we stand indebted to these patriots, we cannot fail to recognize those who have risen at their time in history to defend the liberty our founders passed to them. They too made the ultimate sacrifice to pass the torch of freedom they inherited on to their posterity. Just as the founders of our nation heroically fought to acheive the liberty to exercise our God given rights, countless men and women have lived and died since that time, who have similary sacrificed, not to acquire, but to preserve for future generations that liberty which they were given. These men and women forged their link in the chain of freedom. It is a link of strength, forged in the fires of their adversity, that will never break.

As I looked across the well manicured grounds of the cemetery, noting the gently curving rows of white marble crosses laid out so as to appear from a distance to form perfectly straight lines, I couldn't help but think of those who had tearfully waved goodbye to sons, husbands, and fathers as they departed to play their role in defending our liberty. I shuddered to think that every one of the seemingly endless crosses represented a goodbye that was destined to be the last in this lifetime. I'm sure the tears shed as loved ones deployed to their respective theaters of battle were laced with the fear that they may not return, but how many could truly fathom the intensity of the sacrifice they would be called upon to make? The 17,202 crosses on this plot of land, located on a far off island, represent not only the sacrifice of those who gave their life in battle, but also countless others whose sacrifices were made in the grief of loss that cannot be calculated.

As one of my traveling companions is a retired Major in the US Marine Corps, we were afforded the opportunity of having a tour of the grounds personally led by the cemetery's superintendent. He was able to give us background on some of those interred in this sacred spot, including several who were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

One view of the grave markers at the cemetery in Manila

Even more striking to me were the 36,285 names inscribed in the limestone memorial known as the "Tablets of the Missing". These are the names of those lost in the war, whose remains were never recovered. I can scarcely imagine the pain of not knowing where or how a loved one met their death, just the sting of them never returning. I pray there was consolation for those who sacrificed in this way in knowing that their loved ones died to preserve the freedom we all enjoy.

I think the most poignant moment of the day for me was when I read the inscription on one of the large limestone panels that captured the whole experience for me. The panel is shown in the picture below.

Inscription on wall reads:

LET US HERE HIGHLY RESOLVE

THAT THE CAUSE

FOR WHICH THEY DIED

SHALL LIVE

This then is our responsibility. It is now our turn to forge a link in the chain of freedom. As the men and women here memorialized passed the torch to us, we must consider how brightly the flame is burning while the torch rests in our hands.

A few days later it was my opportunity to travel to Hawaii and visit the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. This was one of the most overpowering experiences I've had in quite some time. To consider that 1,177 sailors on this one ship lost their lives during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was breathtaking. Prior to boarding a ferry that takes visitors to the memorial built over the sunken wreckage, there is a video presentation shown that recounts the attack on December 7, 1941, shows news footage from the period, and describes the casualties incurred on that fateful day.

As I sat there in the dark theater with tears in my eyes, trying to imagine the sacrifices made on that Sunday morning, I was completely and utterly offended by a Japanese tourist, sitting in the seat next to me in the theater, with her head back, mouth open, loudly snoring within minutes after the lights in the theater were dimmed. Now I have no illusions that the fact of this woman being Japanese is in any way reflective of the Japanese people in general. As a matter of fact, I was actually pleased and impressed by the number of tourists from Japan visiting the site. But the irony was not lost, until when thinking about the experience later I realized that this woman was representative of many of us, even in the U.S.

There are threats to our freedom all around us, both at home and abroad. Men and women have died, and their loved ones have lived with grief and loss. Countless patriots have lived and died to forge their link in the chain of freedom. Yet today, while we have the responsibility of forging the steel that will link the freedom we've been given to the freedom that our children hope to enjoy, many of us are loudly snoring. We have either grown too comfortable and complacent in the freedom we've enjoyed for so long, or we naively believe that our freedom cannot be lost. We must awaken our senses to the peril we are facing today, or the chain could end with us.

A view of the USS Arizona from the air

USS Arizona Memorial taken from the ferry as we pulled away

The wall within the USS Arizona Memorial

that shows the names of those lost onboard the ship

Last week I found myself on yet another business trip. This time I was in New York City. As I often do while visiting New York, I took the opportunity to walk the promenade along New York Harbor and look across the water at the Statue of Liberty. It really is beautiful on a clear late afternoon to see the sun glisten off the statue. I've often sat on a bench at the water's edge and thought about the state of things in our world. But this time as I gazed at the most universally recognized symbol of our liberty, I thought of those who had sacrificed to preserve the liberty the statue represents. I found myself contemplating, as I have many times over the past year, about what little I've done to defend our priceless liberty and about how helpless I sometimes feel. Although I am optimistic and hopeful about what faithful people can do in the defense of freedom, I felt a tinge of guilt over how often I thoughtlessly go about my life and enjoy the freedom I've been given, while giving very little in return. I sincerely hope that I and my family can contribute to forging the link we must contribute to the chain of freedom, and that the chain can be an un-ending one.

Thanks,

Richard