Monday, May 27, 2024, is Memorial Day in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”), Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May, and commemorates the men and women who died while in the military service.
The VA National Cemetery Administration’s (“NCA”) website features the “Memorial Day Order” (General Orders No. 11), issued by John A. Logan, Commander in Chief, Grand Army of the Republic, Washington, D.C., on May 5, 1868.
The Memorial Day Order states in Section I that: “[t]he 30th day of May, 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.”
The NCA’s website also features a moving poem by Theodore O’Hara called Bivouac of the Dead, with portions of the poem inscribed on iron tablets found throughout some of the oldest units of this country’s national cemeteries.
There is little public recognition of the poet-soldier Theodore O’Hara, whose military service bridged the period of the Mexican War through the Civil War and led him to places where some of the first cemeteries were created.
Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs (1816–1892) recognized the poem’s solemn appeal and directed that lines from “Bivouac” grace the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery:
“On Fame’s eternal camping-ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead.”
I was moved deeply upon reading O’Hara’s poem. The complete poem may be read HERE, but I wanted to share the first three and the last stanzas of the poem below:
The muffled drum’s sad roll has beat
The soldier’s last tattoo;
No more on life’s parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few.
On Fame’s eternal camping-ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead.
No rumor of the foe’s advance
Now swells upon the wind;
Nor troubled thought at midnight haunts
Of loved ones left behind;
No vision of the morrow’s strife
The warrior’s dream alarms;
No braying horn nor screaming fife
At dawn shall call to arms.
Their shriveled swords are red with rust,
Their plumed heads are bowed,
Their haughty banner, trailed in dust,
Is now their martial shroud.
And plenteous funeral tears have washed
The red stains from each brow,
And the proud forms, by battle gashed
Are free from anguish now.
Yon marble minstrel’s voiceless stone
In deathless song shall tell,
When many a vanquished ago has flown,
The story how ye fell;
Nor wreck, nor change, nor winter’s blight,
Nor Time’s remorseless doom,
Shall dim one ray of glory’s light
That gilds your deathless tomb.
Military service changes everyone and some have experienced things which are just too difficult to speak about, but even those who weren’t in the heat of battle may be suffering deeply, on the inside. There is an inherent, internal conflict with the pride of doing a great job and the reality of what that job entailed. The comradery established in military relationships is almost impossible to recreate in civilian life.
Please remember that there are hurting and lonely veterans among us who need your love and more importantly, God’s love. As you go about enjoying this weekend, please keep your spiritual eyes and ears open for those who simply need a hug and some companionship.
On a personal note, as a USAF bandsman based out of Anchorage, Alaska, I had the honor of flying to Hawaii twice during 1991. The first trip was to perform music at a multi-branch military tattoo, and the second trip was to provide ceremonial music honoring the (then) living veterans of WWII and the 50th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.
As part of the USAF band, it was an honor to play Amazing Grace for the WWII veterans in attendance. I also had the privilege of performing Reveille at the Hickam AFB flagpole on December 7, 1991 – at exactly 7:55 AM, the time on December 7, 1941 that U.S. military members began losing their lives because of the Japanese aerial attack. Perhaps most striking was seeing and touching the intentionally-unrepaired strafing marks on the Hickam AFB command building. All of this was life changing.
My brothers and sisters, time marches on, but it has never been more clear that Memorial Day celebrations are important and necessarily solemn, as they are moments to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice in military service (see John 15:13 and 1 John 3:16).
As one of the United States’ greatest presidents once said:
“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran does not have that problem.” – Ronald Reagan
According to scripture, there is a time for peace and a time for war, a time to live and a time to die (see Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). We don’t escape death, whether it’s in the midst of an honorable battle or in the autumn of our lives as we die a natural death.
God’s promise to us is that we can have eternal life in heaven in His very presence. In fact, it is God’s will that all would be saved – if we would believe upon the only name by which man can be saved – the name of Jesus (see Romans 10:9-10 and Romans 10:13).
You see, Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice of His life upon the cross of Calvary so that by His shed blood, our sins would be forgiven, we would be saved, and we would have eternal life in His very presence. If you haven’t yet repented of your sin and asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, there is no more fitting time than right now (see John 3:16-17). It is the will of God for all to be saved (see 1 Timothy 2:4-6)! Why risk waiting another day(?) – as we are not promised tomorrow. Selah…
Here are the above-referenced scriptures:
John 15:13 (NLT)
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
1 John 3:16 (NKJV)
“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (Amplified Bible)
A Time for Everything
“There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and event or purpose under heaven—[a] time to be born and a time to die; [a] time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; [a] time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; [a] time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; [a] time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; [a] time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; [a] time to keep silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; [a] time for war and a time for peace [emphasis mine].”
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV)
“…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:13 (NKJV)
“For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”
John 3:16-17 (NKJV)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him [emphasis mine] might be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:4-6 (NKJV)
God Desires All To Be Saved
“[God our Savior] desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all…”.
Praise Jesus forevermore!
