Blood and Treasure

Today, a day for so many in my generation significant for its traffic, its barbecues and its extending the length of the weekend, is, I am finally realizing, above all else a day of solemn contemplation and of profound gratitude.

Thank you to the soldiers of today who fight, through hardship and peril, who work courageously to serve the greater good in any way possible - to make improvements, to provide protections, to care for each other - even when they themselves have doubts as to the greater mission. Who on a daily basis, without equivocation, ready themselves to make the ultimate sacrifice on our behalves.

Thank you to the voices -- of dissent, of agreement, of thoughtful observation -- to those who pay scrupulous attention. Those who, in mutual respect listen to one another, and ultimately agree on the goal of resolution, if not the means. Ironic, that the most cohesive dialogue on the current conflict may be borne out in utter silence.

Thank you for the mothers of the soldiers, whose already difficult lifelong jobs -- the protection of their children from all in this world that may harm them -- are made impossible by this war, and yet they endure. They survive the constant vigil that is their children's deployment in places with names like the "Triangle of Death." Only to do it all over again and again. If not for themselves, then in maintaining the vigil for others.

Thank you to all of the soldiers that came before. Our freedom is indeed not free, and it was you who paid the price for the rights we enjoy, and often have the luxury and audacity to take for granted.

Thank you to the journalists who risk their lives to tell us the stories of the war a world away. Even in the face of governmental obstacles and increasing personal jeopardy, for which the pay is meager and the thanks and recognition often less so, they continue on. They are the standard bearers; they bear witness even when it would be so much easier to look away.

Thank you to the one who serves over there now who, at least nominally and for lack of a better description at this point, belongs to me. You have indeed proven to me that "courage" and "heroism" are not amorphous concepts; that you can find yourself, do what you love, and change the world all at the same time.

Thank you to one who is not fighting; though undoubtedly he would have been the first to serve had he had the opportunity. He was extraordinarily kind to me in a time and a place where he had no reason to be, other than the fact that he was simply an extraordinary person. More than a dozen years out, small but significant acts of personal generosity always make me think of him. His sacrifice, though not in combat, is not any lesser than those of the others we honor today. It was, at its root, for the same cause. As was his dream, I hope he is flying somewhere.