Why NOT Celebrate Memorial Day?

Memorial Day is a special day in which many Americans remember men and women who gave their lives and shed their blood for our freedom and for the freedom of other nations threatened by tyrannical powers.  Yet there is an increasing number of Americans who are being educated and indoctrinated with the notion that the birth and existence of the United States of America as a sovereign nation cannot be morally justified.  Does the United States of America have a right to exist; and, are its fallen dead really heroes?

According to those who question the moral legitimacy of the United States, we ought to question the morality of the British-French-Spanish-Portuguese colonialism in North America and other continents beginning in the 16^th century.  Colonialism, they argue, resulted in the eviction of native tribes from their homes in North America, Africa, Australia, and other continents.  In the 18^th century, were the American patriots morally justified in defying British rule to establish the United States through the American Revolution?  How about the blood spilt by both the North and the South, by Republicans and Democrats alike, to determine whether to abolish or defend slavery, respectively?

 

All of this makes for provocative discussion.  So, why not go further back in history, before the beginning of colonialism?  Here, we may want to question the morality of the tribal cultures that waged war against each other and dispersed from the Middle East (the Tower of Babel? Genesis 11: 1-9) into Africa, East Asia, and North and South America to establish and defend their territories.  And, as we question the morality of human behavior in early human history, maybe we should ask about the origin of moral standards in the first place. If humans simply evolved from a line of the more rational and intelligent primates, then who is to say that there are any right or wrong standards for moral behavior?

What we may have to admit is that making moral judgments about human history is impossible unless we consider the records of “His story?”  The Story of God’s creation and dealings with humankind as recorded in His special revelation, the Bible?  In “His story,” we read that our ancestors’ first injustice wasn’t colonialism, or oppression of ethnic minorities, or war, or the industrial revolution and the use of fossil fuels.  Instead, it was the moral choice to disregard the lavish provisions and moral principles provided by a loving Creator God as explained in Genesis 3.  This is the account of the first sin (rebellion against God) in the Garden of Eden. 

But, God did not give up on fallen mankind in spite of our miserably poor stewardship of His abundant provisions for life on Earth.  Instead, God unfolded His master plan in which Jesus Christ, His Son, would come from Heaven to purchase us back from the slavery of sin so that we, by faith in His righteousness, might share in His Eternal Life. 

The cost of God’s purchase of our eternal souls from eternal damnation was very great.  The psalmist (Psalm 49: 7-9) explains that it is impossible for humans to save themselves from the curse of sin and death:

No man can by any means redeem his brother
            Or give to God a ransom for him—
For the redemption of his soul is costly,
            And he should cease trying forever—
 That he should live on eternally,
            That he should not undergo decay.

The costly price paid by Jesus Christ for our redemption from sin was His own life and His shed blood.  Before Jesus died for all mankind, He was subjected to the greatest injustice endured by any human being or tribe.  His most innocent and pure life was taken by force from another garden (not Eden, but Gethsemane) where He had been praying.  Jesus was then subjected to inhumane accusation and abuse in an illegitimate trial-by-night.  There, He was condemned to a cruel death and crucified on a Roman cross.  But, on the third day, Jesus arose as Victor over sin and death so that, by faith, we too might share in His Eternal Life.

So, as we consider whether or not to be grateful for those who have given their lives for our freedom, it is certainly right to realize that America was brought into existence through much suffering and struggle. And this struggle was indeed among fallen men and women who each believed their cause was the right one—even if their only cause in some cases was selfish material gain.  But, many Americans sacrificed because they believed that the Judeo-Christian moral code offers the only basis for establishing human rights and moral responsibility.  On this moral foundation from God, America is justified in establishing through our Constitution that all humans are endowed with inalienable rights from heaven, including the opportunity for a meaningful life, liberty, and the right to pursue happiness.


True human liberty is ultimately from God through the death and resurrection of Christ and can only be realized by faith in God and in “His story”--in His Word.  But, on this Memorial Day, many who doubt the legitimacy of America and its rightful existence do so because they also deny the rightful lordship of Christ in their lives.  Rather than accept the fact that it was our sin and injustice deep in our depraved hearts that contributed to the inhumane and ugly death of the most Innocent Man, Jesus, on the cross, we seek to justify ourselves by our own good works.  Rather than admit that without Christ’s forgiveness, we deserve condemnation, instead we are quick to criticize our Founding Fathers and all who have loved and died to protect America and other nations against evil actors on the world stage.  Rather than accept the finished work of Christ for our justification, we seek to justify ourselves by identifying with well meaning causes such as seeking justice for minorities or saving planet Earth from climate change.

Today is Memorial Day.  Let’s humbly remember our fallen, dead heroes who gave the ultimate price for our freedom.  Let’s also remember the death and resurrection of the most Innocent Man in all of history, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, who suffered the greatest injustice of all for us so that we might understand our place in human history—in “His story.”

Memorial Day: Time to Remember…and Realize

Somewhere in France
June 20, 1944

Dear folks,                              

Glen Silvius (R), somewhere in France (1944)

Will write you a few lines from my fox hole position to let you know everything is going as well as can be expected.  We have plenty to eat and plenty of time that there is nothing moving, but the din of battle is always present.  I am limited as to what I can say but just the same this is war and I have seen some action.  I got mail twice since I have been in France.  We will have no trouble receiving mail but you may not get so much so don’t let it cause you any worry.

Letters such as this from my Uncle Glen Silvius to my grandparents and family in the days following the Normandy Invasion, in June, 1944, cause me to consider the great sacrifice by both members of the armed services and by their loved ones during World War II.  Even though communications between the battlefield and home were more primitive at that time than they are on this Memorial Day, many believe that Americans today tend to be more disconnected from those who serve in our military.

Gala True, a medical anthropologist and folklorist with the Department of Veterans Affairs and contributor to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project was interviewed by Megan Rigger and Laura Santhanam of PBS News Hour.  Ms. True noted that whereas 12% of the population were in military service during World War II, now “less than 1% of our population has served.”  She adds,

The experience of going to war and coming home—we don’t have as much awareness.  We have a disconnect in our society about what’s going on, [about] who has served and what they experienced. In many ways, Americans today feel removed from the Global War on Terror and military conflict. So few have served, and [so] it’s very easy for people say now that ‘I didn’t want these wars,’ but that doesn’t mean that we aren’t all part of this.

On this Memorial Day, as I remember the millions who have served and are now serving our country in uniform, I am gaining a new appreciation of the importance of “remembering” and being thankful.  Unlike the 1940’s, we have almost instantaneous communication from battlefield to the home front in a war that has extended over three times as long as WW II.  If what Gala True has said it true, we need to be more devoted to making connections with current military personnel and their families as well as to our veterans and their families, many of whom face physical and emotional scars of war.

And so, I’m asking myself, “Am I thankful for the political freedom I enjoy today, purchased at great price?”  And, perhaps more importantly, “Am I thankful for the spiritual freedom purchased by God’s provision of the Divine Son, Jesus Christ, Who is God come to Earth in the flesh to live an exemplary human life, and to die on a Roman cross to provide a way of reconciliation between sinful humanity and a holy God?”  After all, it is Jesus Christ Who, more than any other single Person, has changed history.  His death and resurrection launched the Gospel message that the war between God and each sinful human being can come to an end through confession of sin and surrender to God’s loving invitation to peace (Romans 6: 23).

The light of the Gospel of Christ has shown in the hearts of men and women down through the centuries, reflected in the formation of representative governments based on rule of law designed to protect individual freedom and reward individual responsibility. Consequently, although America has fought in many wars, there has been a general understanding that war is a last result, something to be avoided if possible, and not an occasion to conquer other lands but to bring freedom and restoration to people otherwise destined for enslavement and/or death. 

We can all point to morally questionable actions of America in war.   The Vietnam War comes to mind in this context.  When civilian or military leaders deviate from the biblical foundation upon which America was founded, our nation risks losing her distinction from terrorists and other warring groups who have no moral foundation.

In America and in the world, Christianity is being marginalized by those who deny biblical authority and place their faith in human reason.  American leadership in the world is losing its distinction and justification in both war and peace.  This Memorial Day, we need to REMEMBER, but also REALIZE our role in preserving freedom through responsibility. 

So, as I remember those who have sacrificed for our political freedom today, I must also realize that our political freedom is fragile and is being threatened by those who “preach” a “freedom” instituted by human efforts alone apart from the Gospel of Christ.  This is true because true freedom and America’s exceptionalism has been possible because of the moral and spiritual foundation that Christianity has provided through its influence upon our Founding Fathers and the founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

On this Memorial Day, I remember my Uncle Glen and many like him who served, with over a million Americans giving their lives for the cause of freedom.  Won’t you join me in thanking God for over 1.3 million Americans in active duty military, plus another 1 million serving in the reserves (by Department of Defense estimates).  Also, please join me in praying 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.

We need holidays such as Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter to REMEMBER and to REALIZE how much we have to be thankful for, and how important it is that we have responded to God’s offer of His Peace through the Cross of Christ.   Peace begins when we 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, 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."

A Birthday and Memorial Day Tribute

Grave Marker, Dundee Cemetery, Dundee, Ohio

Today, my uncle, Glen Silvius, would have been 104 years old.  My tribute to him is appropriate because this beloved uncle had such a large part in my own development as a young man.  But also, I want to honor him at this time when Memorial Day is approaching because he served honorably in World War II as a member of "the greatest generation."

Discharged in 1945, Corporal Glen Silvius, U.S. Army, had served above and beyond that which was required of him.  To my recollection, he never mentioned that he was awarded a Purple Heart.  Uncle Glen, or “Shorty” as he was known in our family, participated in the Normandy Invasion and the subsequent liberation of France and Germany from Nazi domination.  He seldom spoke of what must have been some horrendous experiences in World War II, but his letters from the battle front which I was able to read after his death, in 1997, revealed much about this chapter of his life.

Glen Silvius, U.S. Army

Just two weeks after the Normandy landing on June 6, Uncle Glen wrote the following letter to his parents, Jesse and Edna Silvius, of Dundee, Ohio from “Somewhere in France.”  I publish it here with posthumous thanks to my uncle who understood and accepted the saving grace of God and won his greatest victory, the victory “over sin and self,” by faith in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For my earlier tribute to Glen Silvius, see “Memorial Day Tribute to a Rich Uncle,” Oikonomia, May 27, 2013.

Memorial Day Tribute to a Rich Uncle

It is Memorial Day weekend, and time to remember those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom and for their love of the United States of America.  A friend taught me many years ago to say, “Thank you for serving.” to each veteran or member of the armed services when I meet them.  This weekend, I met a Vietnam War veteran who was receiving physical therapy in the Carroll Health Center, Carrollton, OH.   As I thanked him for serving, I realized anew the ultimate in stewardship is demonstrated by those who have offered their lives, or who have given “the last full measure of devotion” in service of their country.

Memorial Day weekend also gives me the opportunity to remember my uncle, Glen Silvius, whose birthday is May 19, 2011 (died, Dec. 15, 1997), who served his country in World War II.  “Uncle Shorty” was among the courageous American GI”s who pressed forward from Normandy through western Europe to bring freedom from the scourge of Nazism to the war-torn landscapes and villages of France, Belgium, and Germany.

Even though, as a post-war, “baby boomer”, I never saw Uncle Shorty in a uniform, his reputation as a soldier became evident to me in my pre-teen years through books on his shelves, published by Hercules Engines Co. where he worked before and after the war.  Hercules produced engines for military vehicles, and the company proudly published books filled with photos from the war front to highlight their products in action.  Some of the photos left little to my imagination with respect to the power unleashed in war. 

Although Uncle Shorty seldom spoke of his service during WW II, I learned indirectly that his life had been miraculously spared several times.  As a young man in the 1920’s and 1930’s, he had dreamed of traveling the world.  However, when he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1945, Uncle Shorty returned home and never traveled more than 100 miles from his farm home near Dundee, OH.

During my preadolescent years, the closeness of my relationship with Uncle Shorty was second only to that with my father, Uncle Shorty’s older brother.   My family’s farm home was an extension that my father had added to his family home; and so, my Grandpa and Grandpa Silvius and my Uncle Shorty lived in another part of the same house until my graduation from high school. 

Although Uncle Shorty’s chief employment was with Hercules in nearby Canton, OH, he routinely assisted my dad and another, younger brother Ralph, with their shared responsibilities of farming over 200 acres.  As you can imagine, two and sometimes three farmers who needed to decide how and when to do something made for some interesting and heated exchanges.   It was not hard for me to imagine that Uncle Shorty had been a military man on occasions when he felt that his was the right way to complete a job.

I thank God for what He taught me through Uncle Shorty.  He and my dad both valued education greatly and both were instrumental in encouraging me to attend college.  When I came home from college, Dad looked forward to hearing what I was learning in biology, chemistry, and math.   Uncle Shorty’s interest in my progress was no less than Dad’s , and when the three of us were together, I was challenged to think carefully and to justify exactly why I was in college and where I should go with my ‘higher education.’   Gradually, I sensed that these two men had great respect and love for me, and a confidence that I could “make something of myself.”

In 1969, I completed my BA degree in science at Malone College, married Alvadell Moser, and began a two-year period as a biology teacher at Dover High School.  During this time, our son, Bradley was born, and we maintained close relationships with both the Silvius and Moser families.  Although my dad’s profession of faith in Christ was evident through his public ministry as superintendent at our local Methodist church and through the example he set for me, my uncle’s profession of faith was a bit more subtle.  Thankfully, the conversations between nephew and uncle gradually reached a point where we could share in rather deep conversations about the Person of God and His plan and purpose for each of us.  I believe Uncle Shorty did know and personally accept the reality of salvation by faith in the Person of Christ.

Following this brief background, I would like to share a letter which Uncle Shorty sent to me 20 years after I had entered graduate school at WVU.  At this time, I was a professor of biology at Cedarville University.  I share his letter below followed by my letter of thanks to him.  May it be a post-humus thanks to a veteran who served his country, and to a man that I consider a “rich uncle” in the truest sense of the words.

Letter from Uncle Shorty (1991):

My letter of thanks to him:

Dear Uncle Shorty,                                                                                          November 12, 1991

I got home this evening after dark at about 6:00pm.  I had just finished teaching a 3 hour lab in botany in which we were sectioning and staining Begonia stems and basswood (linden) twigs to study the stem tissues.  So it was a real encouragement to pull your letter out of the mail box.  It was quite a surprise to see the enclosed check.   This was a very generous gift to us and we want to thank you in the words of this letter, and perhaps more significantly, by our wise use of what you have given.

Brad worked two jobs this summer and is working nights now to pay on his college expenses in addition to that which we provide.  Some of this will be used to help him and to save for Mindy's college expense.  We have had a series of replacements of appliances that have worn out in recent months and are anticipating major repairs or replacement of our heat pump which is about 16 years old.  We have been praying that God would help us to know how to meet these expenses.  We have never really lacked for anything good, and I believe God has provided these essentials.  I hope you have experienced a sense of satisfaction and will be blessed by God for your kind assistance.

This is not the first time your gifts have been an encouragement to this particular nephew.  I remember my first wrist watch which was a gift from you. As I recall, you had to show me which wrist to wear it on.  Much later, I learned that it was partly by your encouragement that Dad purchased a used black Volkswagen, my first car.  Then, when I finished my graduate work at West Virginia University, you helped me to purchase some nice shirts, ties, and sweaters.  Interestingly, I still wear the two sweaters around the house that I bought at that time to teach in at University of Illinois. 

I am sure that others of your nieces and nephews could think of many ways you have helped them, too.  For my part, I just want to say that, while it was not for you to have sons or daughters of you own, you have had a large part in helping this nephew in a fatherly way.  I hope your gift will help me to do what is right in being a good husband, and good father as our two children are going through transition to adulthood.

We hope to visit you on Thanksgiving or, more likely during Christmas time.  It is a busy quarter for me with the changes in our existing science building (this summer we had to move out for installation of air conditioning), and the construction of a new addition on the north side of the building.  You would enjoy seeing this; wish you could come down and spend a few days.  It is a 3 story steel framework with brick and glass, enclosing 60,000 sq. feet for our nursing and engineering programs (mechanical and electrical). 

I think your writing is still very good ; much better than mine most of the time.   I have become spoiled by the computer, and I hope you do not think this letter any less personal because it is typed rather than handwritten.  I hope you too are well and that you are at peace with God and yourself.  Thanks for the part you have had in my life, and may God bless you.