Monday, May 30th marks the closing of the school year, graduation for some, and a day off for barbecues and 3-day trips for others. On Memorial Day, most Americans will enjoy and exercise the freedoms provided by those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in time of war, but will most Americans also exercise their responsibilities to those who fought and died?
I recently had the opportunity to speak at the groundbreaking for the Pflugerville Fallen Warrior Memorial (Check out www.fallenwarriormemorial.org to see the project or make a donation) at the behest of the parents of one of my Marines, Byron Norwood, who was killed in Fallujah last November.
Pflugerville, of course, is a microcosm of America, and I hope that the groundbreaking and creation of their Fallen Warrior Memorial will serve as a groundbreaking of another sort, a less tangible one. I hope that their groundbreaking leads to a less tangible memorial built from contributions and service to a higher cause. The contributions the young and future citizens of Pflugerville make to our Nation and the world will be the real memorial to their fallen warriors.
On Monday, across America, old (and now also young) veterans will lead high school bands, little league teams, and Boy and Girl Scout troops down small town and city streets to their own memorials and veteran cemeteries. We do this each Memorial Day to honor the memory of those who served and paid the highest sacrifice for their nation. We do this not just because they chose to fight, or because, tragically, they died -- but rather we do this to honor what they served and lived for. In saying this, we must be careful not to glorify war on Memorial Day. Throughout our great Nation’s history, our enemies have misled their youth to war through tyranny, myth and grand propaganda in an attempt to impose their will upon the world.
In Fallujah, we bore witness to this -- young Arab men recruited into the ranks of insurgent groups by radical Islamic leaders. These leaders (and I use that term loosely) fled the city prior to our assault. Told to fight the 1st Marine Division, the young recruits were abandoned with little food, water, or ammunition, and left with stockpiles of adrenaline, methamphetamines, and even cocaine to inspire them to fight. I thought of the young enemy men who died unnecessarily. They could have been part of the rebuilding, creating families and a better future long after we Americans leave. Instead, they were recruited through the misrepresentation of Islam and died for the cause of murderers and tyrants.
I fought alongside and led Iraqi soldiers in Fallujah, men who are the true standard bearers of their faith and are considered to be the true Mujahadeem or holy warriors. Sergeant Norwood, the brave son of Janet and William Norwood and one of Pflugerville’s fallen warriors, who also worked closely with some brave Iraqis, would agree. It is interesting that many Iraqis now refer to the insurgents or false Mujahadeem as munafakin, which means hypocrites. When combat operations were complete and civilians re-entered the city, we witnessed the citizens of Fallujah celebrating -- sometimes on the rubble of what were once their own homes -- the departure of the terrorists and the munafakins from their city.
The men and women we honor on Memorial Day - the American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, marched off to war for very different reasons than the adversaries they fought throughout our Nation’s history. When they arrived on their respective battlefields, they fought for an even greater cause. These men and women volunteered for lofty ideals, but when they arrived on their battlefield they fought for a much more sublime ideal -- love for the man on their left and on their right.
As a young man Byron heard stories of both his grandfathers’ exploits in World War II. He was a patriot with a good soul and limitless potential in any task he set his talents and heart to. The Marine Corps became his choice of service to fulfill his patriotic ideals and duties. I had the pleasure and great honor to serve with Sergeant Byron Norwood. As someone who was in a leadership position above him, I can honestly say that Byron led his leaders. There are two types of young men who join our beloved Corps -- those who join to become men and those who arrive as men -- Sergeant Norwood was the latter, no doubt due to the influence of his parents, who serve as models of strength and of courage and of love for the men of Weapons Company, Third Battalion, First Marines. Byron quickly became a trusted confidant and good friend. He showed a young Lieutenant the ropes and made sure that I did not make a fool of myself throughout the first few days…and the first few weeks…and onto the months that followed.
In Iraq, Sergeant Norwood requested to move from the headquarters platoon to the Combined Anti-Armor Team platoon -- a platoon of Armored HUMVEES and heavy machine guns with whom he had fought his way up to Baghdad during OIF-I. He wanted to be back with his comrades and friends, on the front lines, not because he wanted to see action and combat, but because he wanted to be with his brothers who he loved. He could not bear to watch them go off and put themselves in danger without him by their side. Sergeant Norwood may have joined the Marine Corps for lofty ideals, but he fought and gave his life because of his love for the Marines he served alongside. Byron showed us that while war may be the embodiment of evil and hell -- it is also a place of great love and compassion for one’s fellow man. As John says, “Greater love hath no man, than he who lays down his life for another.”
Your Memorial Day should represent a timeless tradition, and unfortunately very necessary one, of young Men and Women heading off to war to serve their nation and all the world. It should honor the contributions, the courage, and the dedication of these young men and women, and their families, in the midst of tremendous sacrifice and adversity. Our nation and the world need such men and women, and I hope that this Memorial Day serves as a beacon of service for the young citizens of America. This service need not be in the Marine Corps, or the military, but service of some sort to the greater good. To thank our fallen warriors with words or monuments alone would be to forget them. Our actions and our lives must pay tribute to the example they have set. That is how we tangibly honor the memory of the great men and women who have served and sacrificed -- by continuing the tradition of service they have established. They gave their lives so that we may do something with ours. Thank you and G-d bless.