Memorial Day Remembrance – 2024

Memorial Day is an invitation to all Americans to pause and remember the sacrifice of  the over 1 million Americans who gave their lives for the cause of freedom.  We especially remember the life of our cousin, Larry Arwood, who was killed in Vietnam, in 1968.  Larry was in the prime of his life and much loved and respected by his family and the community of Sweetwater, TN.

We also remember our uncle, Glen Silvius, who was a survivor among the WW II paratroopers who landed in France during the Normandy invasion, in 1944; and later, in the Battle of the Bulge (December, 1945 to January, 1945). 

My uncle seldom spoke of the horrors of World War II during the 20 some years that I knew him.  But after his death, I had opportunity to read several of the letters which he wrote to his mom and dad, my Grandma and Grandpa Silvius.  Here is an introduction to a letter which he entitled “Something to Forget:”

There are times in the lives of people that incidents occur and one hopes to cherish the happy remembrance of the events.  In times of battle, many of these happy moments are buried or become totally eclipsed by the sight of results from the inhuman work of man.  In any direction you look, the same sights are prevailing, all effort to evade unpleasant scenes are in vain.  In any area where forces have met in organized combat, these scenes are only to be expected.  

The strain of nerves anyone must endure is so great that in time even the person who has some chance to use better than average personal protection must return to places where surrounding conditions are more quiet.  It is not always possible to maintain the proper organization and control of units.  The result of such situations only leads to increase the degree of disaster.  No words will explain this except the famed words of the statesman who said, “Together we stand, separated we perish.”

We also pause to thank God and pray for the thousands of men and women who serve today in various places on Earth away from their loved ones in defense of freedom.  We should also pray for our military chaplains who have an increasingly difficult job of providing spiritual leadership and guidance in the midst of stressful situations no matter where they are serving.  Most of all, let us pray for peace in the many war-torn parts of the world today where whole ethnic groups are being threatened with destruction or being displaced from their homes and way of life.

According to God’s revelation in the Bible, as the time draws nearer for the return of Christ, there will be an increase in “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24: 3-8).  Meanwhile, holidays like Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter provide opportunities for us to REMEMBER and to REALIZE how much we have to be thankful for, and how important it is that we respond to God’s offer of His Peace through the Cross of Christ.   Our personal peace begins when we repent of our own sin and surrender to the great Peacemaker.  In Christ, we can gain a correct view of past history, a realistic view of our present world, and a positive outlook for the future.

In Colossians 1: 19-20, the Apostle Paul writes, For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him (Jesus Christ), and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

According to the Bible, one day, all wars will cease. The Apostle John wrote in Revelation 21: 4-5a about the future time when Christ’s kingdom will come:  There will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."

Meanwhile, we REMEMBER, PRAY, GIVE THANKS, and do our part as PEACEMAKERS while we WAIT for Christ’s return or until we are taken to be with Him forever.