Clicking on banner ads enables JWR to constantly improve
Jewish World Review May 31, 2004 / 11 Sivan, 5764

Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports

A quiet time for patriotism and reflection


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | In the final scene of "The Deer Hunter," the friends and family of a fallen soldier gather at their small-town bar after his funeral. It is early in the day. A few of them break out eggs and scramble them. A few more cut bread or set the table. They sit together quietly. Then, in perhaps the most moving moment of the film, one man begins to sing.


G-d bless America,
Land that I love .


If I had one wish for Memorial Day, it would be that people who have lost their loved ones be allowed a simple moment like this. To visit graves and put down flowers. To open a photo album and shed a fond tear. To sit at a table with the surviving loved ones and share a meal and memories.


And that's it. No speeches by politicians. No TV specials by opportunistic networks.


There is enough of that in the buildup to war.


It should be banned from its mourning.


As I write this, I am looking at two haunting images. One is a pair of Army boots. I keep them on my desk. They belonged to my Uncle Ed, a World War II vet who fought in the Philippines (and was my inspiration for the book "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" [Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.]). He was the toughest guy I've ever met. Worked with his hands all of his life. Battled every disease you could name, right to the finish.



Donate to JWR


In all our years together, whenever I asked him about the war, he deferred. Oh, he'd talk about the transports, the barracks, the "chow." But never about what happened, never any shooting or fighting. It was understood that certain things were private; he didn't offer and we didn't push.


The other image I see, just in front of his Army boots, is a newspaper photo of a female soldier in Iraq. She is leaning over an Iraqi prisoner's body. The man is dead. His eyes are taped shut and his mouth is half-open. She is inches from his face, giving a thumbs-up sign and a big smile.


Her name is Sabrina.


I don't know what my uncle would have made of that - any of it, the dead man, the taped eyes, the fact that a soldier was named Sabrina.


All I know is when he went to war, he left our shores willing to defend his country. And I imagine when Sabrina left, she had the same thought in mind.


The difference between World War II and Iraq, people say, is that we were all behind World War II. That is true. We knew who, what and where we were fighting. And we believed we had a greater cause - saving the world from tyranny.


Today we lack such clear purpose. Some wonder if there is any purpose to this latest war at all. But to the soldiers who put on the uniform, who emerge from plane or boat into a foreign land, purpose is not so fuzzy. They are there to do as they are told, and to believe that those above them know what they are doing.


Sadly, at times, they do not. Not the people giving orders, or the brass giving them orders, or the lawyers giving the brass orders, or the politicians giving the lawyers orders.


And young men - and women - get killed.


And young men - and women - do things they never thought they'd do, or things no one believed they'd do.


This, more than anything, is the unifying fact of war, any war, anywhere, anytime. It changes people. It changes families. It brings death, horror and haunting memories.


Which is why Memorial Day should be a quiet, private commemoration - not an opportunity for someone to win votes or to have a "special sale."


At the end of that scene in "The Deer Hunter," the others at the table slowly join in singing. They finish, as the movie ends, with raspy, tear-filled voices.


G-d bless America,
My home sweet home.


If patriotism should break out on Memorial Day, this is how it should happen, in small rooms with lifted voices. Nowhere else.

Enjoy this writer's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.



Comment on JWR contributor Mitch Albom's column by clicking here. You may purchase his latest book, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", by clickingHERE. (Sales help fund JWR.)

Up

05/24/04: Froot Loops, pancakes and caviar omelets
05/10/04: Why can't we stop bullying problem?
04/26/04: The professor stood for more than hockey
04/19/04: No time like the present to relive the past
04/11/04: Sister's family loves its piece of the rock
03/18/04: North and South meet at Western Michigan
03/15/04: Hockey could stop fighting in a heartbeat
03/08/04: Yeah, right, downsizing food is the answer
03/01/04: Lord of the Geeks
02/17/04: Want to get hitched? Not so fast, pal
02/09/04: Beatlemania still resonates
01/26/04: Fine, you have 110 percent of our respect
01/20/04: The sanctity of wasting our money
12/29/03: Anyone remember a concept called 'childhood'?
12/22/03: The I's have it
12/15/03: Life's brilliant on the other side of the pond
12/08/03: Squeezed by the politics of business
11/24/03: Celebs' misdeeds will make great tales for the grandkids
11/10/03: The butler did it! (But do we care?)
10/27/03: Parsley, sage, rosemary and time
10/13/03: The Kobe case: There are no winners
10/07/03: Tough choices in the not-so-amazing race
11/05/02: Everything is a billboard, even the cops
10/29/02: Nowhere to hide ... even at 40,000 feet
10/22/02: The pen isn't mightier than good sense
10/15/02: We turn our serial killers into celebrities
10/02/02: In Minnesota Vikings star receiver's view, he's king, you're dirt
09/26/01: The feds don't feel their pain
09/18/01: Some cling to life, others give it away
09/12/01: Worshipping a false 'Idol'
11/14/01: Patriotism is no excuse for stupidity
10/30/01: Dr. Dre: champ for First Amendment!
10/23/01: Terror is sugar-free
10/16/01: The army of the in-between
10/11/01: New war begins with delivery of darkness
10/08/01: Give peace a chance?
10/01/01: If this is supposed to make us feel secure, it isn't working
09/28/01: And our flag is still there
09/26/01: On the road to Ohio, life's little joys return
09/25/01: Our challenge: Not to change who we are
09/17/01: We can learn plenty from the horror
08/31/01: Back to school: Revenge of the boomers
08/22/01: The price of connectedness
08/16/01: An anniversary without celebration
07/31/01: Wanna name my kid? Pay me a cool Mil' --- OK, a half-mil'
07/25/01: Hey, there's no television on my ice floe!
07/10/01: When nobody knew what a Heisman was
07/02/01: Business opportunities for the empathy-impaired
06/25/01: Bunker mentality: At least Archie's meanness was satire
06/18/01: Famous fathers, eat your hearts out
06/05/01: 'No comment' on Bush twins is hard to swallow
05/30/01: Veteran scratches out the hatred
05/22/01: O.J.'s genius
05/15/01: No more kidding around
05/01/01: Haunted by the past
04/24/01: I WANTED TO BELIEVE
04/16/01: Before you file that extension...
04/11/01: Ever want to break an airport agent's neck? This guy did!
04/03/01: The best role models aren't on TV
03/26/01: CAN YOU GET ANY MORE ATTENTION THAN THIS!?
03/19/01: 'March madness' is aptly named
03/07/01: I'm sorry, I apologize, I beg your forgiveness
03/05/01: Young fans' web sites become a Big Harry deal

© 2003 DFP