Decoration Day / Memeorial Day

Accompanying this time of spring swarms, decorations and declamations are laid to rest upon the graves of fallen warriors. This 2008 Memorial Day, we again remember with poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 -1882):

"Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers;
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours."

A 20 year navy veteran from West Chester, Pa., also sums up the spirit.

"I was trained by a family that taught me to love our country, not blame it. And I am paid (back) by troops and their families who say thanks for doing this, thanks for being here."

In 1922, when the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated, words to him still echo through the years our debt to soldiers, fallen in the line of duty.

IN THIS TEMPLE
AS IN THE HEARTS OF THE PEOPLE
FOR WHOM HE SAVED THE UNION
THE MEMORY OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IS ENSHRINED FOREVER.

Politics should not come into play on Memorial Day. Freedom has been rung by dedication and sacrifice, both bi-partisan, unifying American ideals.