“It is the Muse who takes care that the man who is worthy of honour does not die.”
— Horace, “Odes” Book 4, Poem 8 (d. 8 B.C.)
I went to school at the very top of Marye Heights.
Montfort Academy was a small Catholic school my grandfather devoted a good deal of his life towards as a lay Catholic. The Daughters of Wisdom ran the school for 50 years before leaving. The playground was extensive: swings, basketball court, soccer field (where my exploits as a defender were — for a short time — legendary), monkey bars, and a kickball field. We had it all, and frisbees and footballs and soccer balls and kick balls flew through the air as so many modern day drones.
…and woe to the kid who kicked a ball over the brick wall, and into the cemetery.
Folks seems quicker than most to remind these days that Memorial Day is a holiday honoring those who have fallen in service and defense of our country. Today seems to carry a bit more weight, as folks are reading and watching the news and see the fall of Ramadi to ISIL, where the Iraqi army vastly outnumbered the insurgents, and laid down their arms.
Frederick and Kimberly Kagan perhaps had the best analysis of the defeat in the pages of the WaPo:
Setbacks against the Islamic State in Iraq might not be so devastating if the United States and its allies were on the offensive against that group elsewhere. The president’s plan, unfortunately, confined our efforts almost exclusively to Iraq. In the meantime, the group has managed to gain adherents in the Sinai, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even further abroad, as part of its strategy to remain in Iraq and Syria and expand the caliphate. Had the Islamic State been dealt a rapid and crushing blow in Iraq, one might have hoped for a collapse in support for the organization and the dwindling of these various movements, all of which were preexisting organizations that swore allegiance to the Islamic State opportunistically in the hope that they would prove to be early backers of what Osama bin Laden liked to call “the strong horse.” The Islamic State’s success against the United States in Iraq makes the group look, indeed, like a strong horse and is likely to strengthen its efforts to recruit individuals and groups to its ranks. The fall of Ramadi is a major strategic defeat for the United States and an important victory for the Islamic State, even if it proves ephemeral.
General George S. Patton, a fellow Virginian whose family hailed from the Fredericksburg area, used to say that he hated paying for the same real estate twice.
The first time American soldiers went into Ramadi, it was in the first part of the Iraq War. The second time in 2004, American forces lost 13 killed and 40 wounded. The third time in 2006, the United States lost over 80 killed and 200 wounded. Anbar Province itself consumed the lives of 1,300 U.S. military personnel over the course of nearly a decade.
By 2009, Iraq had been largely pacified. Today? ISIL was outnumbed 10 to 1 by some estimates, and the Iraqi Army dissolved in the face of repeated attacks. J.M. Berger wrote an exceptional piece in Politico that goes straight to the heart of the matter concerning the utter failure of the Obama administration in tackling ISIL. It is worth a read.
The nature of sacrifice is that sometimes, it is indeed squandered. Sometimes by those who don’t appreciate the sacrifice; other times, by those who supremely value it. The politics of turning Iraq into a Vietnam aside, what remains for us to determine is what such sacrifice means for the United States of America.
For many, it’s hot dogs and hamburgers on a three-day weekend. For others, it’s a loved one who sacrificed themselves on the altar of freedom. Those in between have to take a moment to remember the price of our freedom.
The Daughters of Wisdom knew and appreciated the sacrifice made during that day in December 1862:
On the school site, two Civil War battles raged 80 years before, and the scene of a generous and heroic deed by one of the combatants was played out. Confederate soldier, Sgt. Richard Kirkland, of the South Carolina Volunteers, risked his life during intense fighting to give water and comfort to wounded Union soldiers, thereby representing Christian love, said Sister Rohan.
“On these hallowed grounds, ‘Wisdom built herself a home,’ “(Prv. 9:1), she said.
Sacrifice is given meaning in the memories of those who live on. Our forefathers recognized this, and the Roman poet Horace is a good reminder of our privilege and responsibility on Memorial Day. Those who are worthy of honor do not die, and in this is the very foundation of wisdom. Americans who have laid their lives down for liberty know this without thinking about the machinations of politicians back home, but with a clear sight that future generations might live in freedom.
Our homes and families are built upon the foundation of heroes such as these; the mortar and brick being the lives of over 1.3 million Americans who gave their lives.
Happy Memorial Day.
