Editorial originally published May 29, 1970 for which author Marvin L. VanGilder received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation.
The men who died in America’s wards were for the most part members of the younger generation in their time.
For them war was a necessary evil but the purpose of their participation was to make it possible for others following in their steps to live in peace, harmony and good will.
Memorial Day is a time for remembering the high degree of their sacrifice and the ideals for which it was made.
This year it also ought to be a time for remembering:
They did not die so that anarchy might replace law.
They did not die to make popular the burning of public building, the stoning of public officials, the desecration of the flag of freedom or the shameful denunciation of the uniforms of the nation’s life-preserving armed forces.
They did not die so that the land they cherished might be given over to the ways of tyrannical enemies, including that who carry the banner of communism.
They did not die to legalize or condone looting, rioting, name-calling or sniping.
They did not give themselves to make it possible to convert higher education into a farcical play party in which the uneducated can pretend they are better administrators than the educated.
They never dreamed their dying would open the way to chaos and disorder, the coddling of criminals and the worship of drugs and adultery. Nor did they die so that the highways and byways of the land they loved might be littered with waste by those who love little.
They did die because they knew that freedom, with its accompanying responsibilities, was the single ideal worthy of such sacrifice and because they desired that this nation remain a strong bastion devoted forever to the enlargement and perpetuation of real freedom.
Because so many in our time seem to have forgotten the real purposes of their sacrifice, this Memorial Day everyone in the nation ought to be still, listen, think, remember and resolve to take a dedicated, active role in steps toward returning the nation at once to the rule of law, to decency, order and adherence to ideals bigger than any generation.
Each one ought to salute the Stars and Stripes with renewed understanding that it is the symbol of yesterday’s sacrifice and perhaps the only hope of successful, upright and free tomorrow.
Each one ought to thank God for the devotion of those who died in battle and those who face a vicious enemy in battle today, then resolve to remain true to the trust they have placed in the hands of their fellow Americans by being concerned, constructive harmonious and faithful citizens.
It’s time to stop talking about everything distasteful in the ways of today’s society and start doing something positive about improving it – by living Americanism every hour of every day.
If we do this, they shall not have died in vain.
