Memorial Day, 2011

The colombarium at the National Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl crater.

Memorial Day, 2011, is especially poignant because this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Afghan war, the longest (under some definitions) in U.S. history. The immense expenditure of resources and, more importantly, American lives seem never-ending. Was it all worth it to finally kill the mastermind behind the September 11th attacks? Did the war help prevent other terrorist attacks from happening?

Paying respects to Uncle Jack and
his three brothers at Punchbowl

Reasonable people will differ because there is no way of knowing what the alternative history would have been. History is not a computer simulation that we can restart to see the effect of different decisions. All we can do in our own lives, like the brave soldiers who gave their all, is to try to act with principle and wisdom while the shadows dance mockingly on the cave wall.

Lately I've been thinking more about the generation that fought and won World War II. Today's problems are daunting, but they are nothing compared to what they faced--economic catastrophe and the destruction of nations. They secured the blessings of liberty for themselves and their posterity, in the words of the Constitution, and so shall we, if we remember our forefathers' example.