The debt of love owed to those who perished for our freedom
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction
Psalm 119:92
I believe, it’s safe to say that most Americans confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day.
If there was any confusion about that in my mind, this issue was quickly settled by a Memorial Day parade that I’ve once attended in the city of Gahanna, Ohio.
The captivating solemn ceremony that followed the parade was held amidst a multitude of American flags adorning the tombstones of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. As the ceremony was drawing to a close, I found myself reflecting on the words and prayer of the chaplain, the utter reverence of the crowd as the National Anthem played and as various members of the military and decorated veterans paid their deepest respect and appreciation to their fallen comrades.
Soon after the conclusion of the service, I began to walk and read some of 
the words carved on the tombstones that have the Red, White, and Blue inserted next to them. One of the tombstones belonged to a War World II soldier who died in combat at the age of 24, and another was that of a 21-year-old man who paid the ultimate sacrifice during War World 1.
As I read the engraved words, I began to reflect. Those two soldiers lost their precious earthy years so that their battle comrades, their beloved America, and a multitude of countries around the globe can gain earthly years of freedom from the dark and evil tyranny of injustice and oppression.
To immigrants like me who might have forgotten how hard, harsh, or hellish our native countries used to be, to Wall Street money makers, hoarders, and others fit to be named society’s greedy bunch who care for profits more than the poor and needy surrounding them, to Hollywood lavish trend setters and their followers who put money before morals, and to a young generation (and older ones like the rest of us) becoming gradually dependent on daily doses of You Tube, iPhones, and instant texting this next message is for all of us.
Friend, you and I can live, laugh, play and pray in total freedom in America and not in the dark dungeons of enslavement and demeaning control elsewhere not because of our great genius, amazing skills or talents. It’s only by the Grace of the Almighty, and the obedience to the call of duty of those two soldiers whose tombstones reminds us of the lost years of their lives, and others like them that you and I can, if we wisely choose to, enjoy the years of our lives. We can freely choose to live, laugh, play, and pray; what they couldn’t do and can no longer do on this earth.
I believe God meant for me on that Memorial Day to attend that solemn ceremony in Gahanna. I can now clearly distinguish between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, and I hope you too can. To the former, those who still live, belongs my genuine appreciation and thankfulness, and to the latter, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying, belongs my deepest gratitude, reflection on God’s grace, their sacrifice, and country.
And to their families, we owe a debt of love, and gratefulness for their loved ones who lost their lives so that we can gain freedom in America and elsewhere.
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
Adel Gobran Hanna, M.D.
Author: Soldier to Soldier, Heart to Heart
A Doctor’s Stories from a Military Camp
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