Remembering Memorial
Day
Though an army besiege me, my
heart will not fear; though war
break out against me, even then
will I be confident. Ps.
27:3
There have
been wars since almost the beginning of time and shall be until the end (Dan. 9:26).
However, most of you have never experienced a World War. Some fought bravely and many died in Korea,
or in Vietnam,
but as bad as it was, the whole world was not at war since World War II. Many people today do not even know what
Patriotism is. They do not understand
why eyes fill with tears when saluting the American flag, or why tears flow
while listening to the song, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty.”
The word,
‘Patriotism’, means “devotion to ones country”.
Yet, how little respect many Americans have for the United
States and how little for the ‘red, white
and blue’. Those without respect for
country and flag are trampling on the graves of the hundreds of thousands who
fought and died for love of country. If
only we could see what America
would have been like if it weren’t for those brave men.
Let me tell
you of one such man. He was young – just
turned eighteen when war with Japan
broke loose. He lied his age to get in
the military and joined the army to see the world, but not in the way he
experienced it. After basic training, he
was stationed at Hawaii, a
paradise for a small town boy. He left
home with the fear of God in his heart, but the world quickly drew him into its
snare. He partied in paradise completely
oblivious to the fact that paradise was about to be turned into Hell. He had a 3-day pass and headed away from
Scoffield Barracks early in the morning, on his motorcycle, along with some of
his buddies.
Suddenly
the sky was filled with planes, bombs dropping everywhere and fighter planes
riddling everything that moved with the staccato of thousands of rounds of
ammunition. The boys turned around their
motorcycles and headed back to camp. The
young man grabbed an anti aircraft gun of a soldier who had fallen and he began
shooting, not knowing or caring who the enemy was.
That day,
the news read like this:
“Early in the morning of December 7, 1941,
Japanese submarines and carrier-based planes attacked the U.S.
Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor.
Nearby military airfields were also attacked by the Japanese planes. Eight
American battleships and 13 other naval vessels were sunk or badly damaged,
almost 200 American aircraft were destroyed, and approximately 3000 naval and
military personnel were killed or wounded. The attack marked the entrance of Japan
into World War II on the side of Germany
and Italy,
and the entrance of the United
States on the Allied
side.” On December 11, 1941, Germany
also declared war on the United
States. The entire world was then at war.
When
the young man went back to his barracks, it had almost been destroyed. The water pipes were broken and many soldiers
were killed as they slept in their bunks, which left the floor awash with
bloody water. His bunk, an upper one,
was riddled with bullet holes, which went through killing the soldier
beneath. Truly, it was by the grace of
God, he was spared.
From
there he was shipped out to the island
of New Guinea where he fought the Japanese for the next four years. He was gone from his home five years to the
day, when he returned. It wasn’t until he was in his sixties that the U.S. government honored him for his heroism at Pearl Harbor. He received medals and a flag from the state
capitol. He was extremely proud of his
service to his country. He belonged to
an elite group called, “Pearl Harbor Survivors”.
The
horrors of the things he experienced were to remain with him the rest of his
life. Over the years, he tried to drown the memories out with alcohol. He spoke often of being a loner, who would
take his camper out to isolated spots where he would just sit by a camp fire
and think. In his later years, he dried
out and became a pleasanter person, but his life style of alcohol and
cigarettes dissipated his body and at seventy-two, he passed from this
world. How do I know all this about the
young man? He was my brother.
War does
horrible things to people. Some are
affected more than others, but no one is ever the same. My brother was much older than I was, but as
a child, I too was touched by the war. I
grieved for the brother that carried me on his shoulders, or played horsy so I
could ride on his back. I lost him when
he left for the service and that loving, caring brother never returned. He would forever be a stranger to me.
As we remember the brave on Memorial
Day, let us take a spiritual look at fighting in the service – the service of the King.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Eph. 5:10-13
The
same spiritual enemy, who worked through the World Wars, is still warring
against us. He wants to defeat us and
drive us into a hopeless lifestyle. He
won’t give up, but the good news is, God has provided for us, so we can stand
against him. We don’t have to turn to
the things of the world. We don’t have
to be blind, wretched and naked. Not
when we can put on the whole armor of God.
Verse 18 says, “praying always with all prayer and
supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance
and supplication for all the saints…”
Today let us remember those who gave their
lives for our country. Also, there are multitudes of unsung Christian heroes
and martyrs who have paved the way for us.
Let us hold their service dear to our hearts and be proud to be a part
of the Kingdom of God, which
is the true “Land of the Free, and the Home of the Brave”.
