Here are Jim's remarks from today's Memorial Day commemoration event in Mattapoisett, MA. It was a lovely event and the weather was perfect. Emma and I tagged along and got to see this beautiful southcoast town, ending with an early dinner outside on the deck at Aidan's Pub in Bristol, RI on the way home.
I am honored to speak on
behalf of the United States Navy and the Naval War College. At the same time, it is humbling to realize how profoundly inadequate any words I can say will be
to this solemn occasion. Such was the valor
of our honored dead.
What is Memorial Day? Well, there are the obvious things. It’s a day for fun. It gives us an excuse to gather friends and
family for a barbeque. It’s when the
community pool opens. It’s the official
start to summer. And there’s nothing
wrong with any of these things.
But there’s more to it than
that. Is Memorial Day about
monuments? Yes, in part. Our nation excels at physical
remembrances. Think about the World War
II, Korea, and Vietnam memorials in Washington.
There’s Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s memorial to the 54th Massachusetts on
Boston Common—an elegy in bronze. New
Bedford erected a Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the turn of the 20th century
to honor veterans of the Civil War. In
Newport we have a monument to remember students and alumni killed in the attack
on the Pentagon on September 11. Among
them is a friend and shipmate of mine, Navy Lieutenant Commander Bob Elseth.
Such monuments are
testaments in stone to Americans’ commitment to enshrine the fallen. And they are everywhere. Whether you’re here in Mattapoisett, in my
hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, or visiting any city across this great nation
of ours, monuments are nearby. You can
feel with your fingertips the names of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines
who gave their lives in defense of our country.
But there’s even more to
Memorial Day than visiting these shrines to the fallen, reading inscriptions
recounting their deeds, and marveling at their sacrifice. War has a human face. Where most of us see stone and metal carvings,
some of us see faces.
The families, friends, and
brothers-in-arms left behind see Marine Corporal Phillip McGrath of Glendale;
Army Sergeant Edward Grace from South Dartmouth; Army Specialist Steve Gutowski
of Plymouth; Army First Lieutenant Timothy Steele from Duxbury; Navy SEAL Chief
Petty Officer Kevin Houston from West Hyannisport; Army Specialist Matthew
Gallagher of North Falmouth; Army Sergeant Alan Snyder from Worcester; or
Marine Sergeant William Woitowicz from Middlesex.
I am heartened by the
renaissance Memorial Day has undergone over the past decade. Given the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
other remote parts of the world, Americans appear newly conscious of the
personal sacrifices warriors like these make—as do the families who wait on
their return. This awareness is woven
into our shared American experience. It
transcends that which divides us, such as politics, cultural differences, and
religion. And that’s a good thing. The fallen render valuable service from
beyond the grave. They remind us of the
human dimension of war, and of our common heritage.
But there’s something to
Memorial Day that runs deeper still. I
am a Navy man. But let me pay tribute to
an Army general who spoke wise words about Memorial Day not far from here. In 1945, near the close of World War II,
General George S. Patton spoke at the Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston. He declared that it was “foolish and wrong to
mourn the men who died. Rather we should
thank God that such men lived.”
Now, Patton spoke too
strongly. He often exaggerated. It is right and fitting that we mourn the
fallen. But he was right about where we
ought to place the emphasis. He was
right to urge the living to cultivate a spirit of gratitude to the dead. We should be grateful because of the ideals
they upheld and their loyalty to their brothers-in-arms.
Patton was an avid student
of history, and his words belong to a great tradition in American oratory. In 1863, nearly 150 years ago, President
Abraham Lincoln spoke on the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We will hear his complete Gettysburg Address
in a few minutes. It is a speech that
remains eternally fresh.
Lincoln insisted that the
living rededicate themselves to the high purposes for which the fallen lived
and died. For him the best way to honor
the dead was to complete “the unfinished work” they had “so nobly advanced” and
for which they had paid the ultimate price.
Indeed, Americans must “take increased devotion to that cause” for which
“these honored dead ... gave the last full measure of devotion.” Lincoln implored Americans to resolve “that
these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a
new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the
people shall not perish from the earth.”
So Lincoln and Patton
insist that we do more than remember the fallen. In Lincoln’s words, the men of Massachusetts
I listed a moment ago gave their last full measure of devotion in Afghanistan
this past year.
These are different times
from 1863. We fight not to preserve the
Union or abolish slavery but to construct new—humane—governments in foreign
lands. We need not all agree with this
cause. Many do not. Nevertheless, I believe Lincoln would ask us
to pick up the standard—to take inspiration from men such as these—and to
resolve that our own experiment in self-government shall continue to survive
and prosper. This remains a cause worth
striving for.
How should we do it? Gathering here is one way to show our
appreciation and gratitude, and to refresh our own commitment. We should, and must, keep doing it. But how can we project the reverence we feel
on this day throughout the other days of the year?
First and foremost, we
must recognize that Memorial Day is more than a holiday. It is an act of cultural upkeep. The memory of past feats of arms fades
quickly if not handed down from generation to generation. It takes conscious effort on all our parts to
preserve that bequest. I therefore
challenge you to teach youthful Americans about the sacrifices that have been
made on our behalf—on behalf of beleaguered peoples elsewhere in the world—and
on behalf of the liberty and freedom guaranteed by our Declaration of
Independence and our Constitution.
This is hard to do in a
social-media culture ruled by sound bites and “tweets.” Stories rich in history and lofty ideals defy
such cursory treatment. But if we do our
job well, good things will follow.
Future generations will understand that—politics aside—the act of pledging
yourself to your country and being prepared to fight for the freedom of others
remains a worthy endeavor. They will
volunteer to help veterans who are still with us. They will comfort and assist the family that
is grieving the loss of a service member.
They will visit those wounded in service to the nation and help them
build new lives. The spirit of
self-sacrifice will live.
And our efforts on this
Memorial Day will not have been wasted.
If I may, let me close by
being parochial for a minute or two.
George Washington wrote: “To be
prepared for war is the most effectual means to promote peace.” President Theodore Roosevelt, a great friend
of the United States Navy, repeated these words in 1897 at the Naval War
College. The danger of being unprepared
for war became obvious during the War of 1812, whose bicentennial the Navy and
the nation are now observing. Being
ready is precisely why our College was established—to educate those who do
business in great waters, in the skies overhead, and on faraway shores.
Our Navy is the most
potent weapon of maritime battle ever forged. But it is also one of the world’s
greatest instruments of peace and humanitarian assistance. American seafarers serve on the ground in
Afghanistan. They defend our world’s
oceans from piracy, working with friendly navies in places like the Indian
Ocean. They provide food, medicine, and
comfort when natural disasters strike in places like the Philippines,
Indonesia, or Japan. This dual mission
is why our latest recruiting poster shows an aircraft carrier conducting flight
operations at night and tells us we can SLEEP TIGHT. That’s what American naval power is
about—deterring war, providing security so that nations may thrive, and
comforting the afflicted in their hour of need.
General Patton can rest
easy. Men and women such as those he
commemorated in 1945 still live. I know;
I work with them. Not just our Navy but
our Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps are in good hands. It will remain so if we do our job—and make every
day Memorial Day.
Thank you.
A few more photos from our trip to Mattapoisett
