This Memorial Day Feels Different…
A Day of Remembering Service, Honor, Democracy, and “the Last Full Measure”
"When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in that happy hour when the establishment of American liberty, on the most firm and solid foundations, shall enable us to return to our private stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful, and happy country."[1]
George Washington, June 1775, in letter to Peter Van Brugh Livingston, President, NY Provincial Congress
Our Democracy Depends on the “Citizen Soldier”
This Memorial Day seems different to me.
Perhaps it feels different because of recent events in the Ukraine. Lately I’ve been thinking more about my grandsons and the possibility of them having to serve in the military in a possible war in eastern Europe should Putin’s Russia attack any of our NATO allies.
Or, perhaps this Memorial Day seems different to me because I’ve been remembering my father who served in the Army Air Corps in World War II. By the time he arrived in Europe to serve as a waist gunner in his B-17 squadron, the war with Germany was nearly over. He was told that he would be sent back to train on B-29 bombers for deployment to the Pacific theatre. However, atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender. Although my dad never saw combat, it was only the course of events which prevented that.
I believe those are at least two of the reasons why I’ve been thinking about Memorial Day this year somewhat differently. I’ve been reflecting on the power in my life, and on all Americans’ lives, of this thing called “the course of events”.
Things Could Have Been Very Different
For me, the fact my father was not deployed to Europe during World War II until later in 1944, likely made the difference as to me being here to write this. If he had been deployed a year earlier, 1943 was a year that our B-17 and B-24 bomber squadrons were flying deep into Nazi Germany on their missions. For part of those missions these bombers were without long range fighter escort support as the P-51 Mustang fighter plane was not widely deployed until 1944. It was the only fighter with a fuel range capable of protecting our bombers deep into German territory round trip.
Consequently, the losses of American airmen in the European theatre during 1943 were very high. That year the Eighth Air Force, which flew many of these missions, incurred about half of the U.S. Army Air Corps casualties (47,483 out of 115,332).[2] Despite such high casualties, engaging the German Luftwaffe in head-to-head combat achieved its goal. By 1944 the Luftwaffe was not the same military threat it had been. These bombing missions and their aerial battles over Germany destroyed much of the Luftwaffe enabling the Allied D-Day invasion of Nazi occupied France to occur without significant threat of German air attack. The cost of greatly reducing the Luftwaffe’s combat effectiveness was high indeed, paid for in the blood and lives of these courageous American airmen.
Since the war was almost over and he wasn’t going to be sent to fight Japan, my dad remained stationed at his air base in Germany. There he worked as a clerk typist for his squadron until the war was over, eventually coming home and going to university on the G.I. Bill, the first in his immediate family to do so. College is where he met my mother (go Illini!).
The power of the “course of events”. Or, as others might say, fate.
For So Many American It’s Been a Different Story
But, as I’m sure the reader knows, over the course of our nation’s history, circumstances like or similar to those that happened to my father have not been the case for so many Americans who assumed arms to defend this country. Of those Americans who answered the call to military service, thousands have given what President Lincoln called in his post-Battle of Gettysburg address the “last full measure of devotion”.[3] Those that survived often came home wounded, either physically, mentally, or emotionally, or all three.
According to Jonathan E. Vespa writing for the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020:
“…The first veterans of the United States served during the American Revolution in the Continental Army, created in 1775 when colonial militias formed a common army under command of George Washington. Since then, the United States has declared war 11 times and fought in conflicts around the world. More than 41 million Americans have served over the course of the nation’s history. More than 16 million did so in World War II alone.”[4]
That number of 41 million Americans serving our nation’s military over the course of our history is large. It seems especially large if you consider that by one calculation our “…country has grown from about 3 million at the time of the Revolution to about 300 million today. If you add up all the people born in the last 220 years, plus the number who have immigrated in that time, you get 545 million of which 472M were born here and 73M immigrated.”[5]
There are also other noteworthy facts from the Census Bureau to consider about our veterans today:[6]
•The number of veterans in the United States declined by a third, from 26.4 million to 18.0 million between 2000 and 2018.
•There are fewer than 500,000 World War II veterans alive today, down from 5.7 million in 2000. •Women make up a growing share of veterans. Today, about 9 percent of veterans—or 1.7 million— are women. By 2040, that number is projected to rise to 17 percent.
•The largest cohort of veterans alive today served during the Vietnam Era (6.4 million), which lasted from 1964 to 1975. The second largest cohort of veterans served during peacetime only (4.0 million).
•The median age of veterans today is 65 years. By service period, Post-9/11 veterans are the youngest with a median age of about 37, Vietnam Era veterans have a median age of about 71, and World War II veterans are the oldest with a median age of about 93.
The Citizen-Soldier: an Integral Part of Our Democracy’s Bed Rock
Just like my dad, these veterans and those before them, came from all walks of life. Yet, they came, they served, and some gave, to quote Abraham Lincoln one more time, “the last full measure of devotion”. Keep in mind that the devastation of our wars certainly is measured in battlefield deaths, but when those deaths are added to the number of those wounded in battle as well as those dying from disease while serving in our wars, the figure is over 2,000,000 Americans. Over two million Americans who have bravely served our nation defending our democracy in all its wars from 1775 to 2019![7]
And while today the numbers of our veterans have gone down due to demographics (death) as well as having a smaller military since military conscription (i.e., draft) was ended during the Vietnam War era, it is clear our democracy could not have survived today without them. Sam Smith, writing on the importance of the citizen-soldier to our democracy since its founding, observed:
“…Creating balance between the martial and civic spheres is a defining feature of the American experiment. More than any other form of government, a representative democracy must rely on “citizen-soldiers” to ensure its liberty and security.” [8] (emphasis mine)
Just ponder that statement. In this contentious political era we find ourselves in, where democracy itself is often minimized, attacked, and denigrated by major political figures and their party, we would not even be able to have such political debate without these veterans’ sacrifices. Without these “citizen-soldiers” making what has often been not only the sacrifice of the prime years of their lives for us, but for many (including their families), it was their ultimate sacrifice. Without them democracy would not be sustainable.
There’s Another Reason this Memorial Day Feels Different
These Americans’ sacrifice is attested to by our military cemeteries here and abroad, military service grave markers in public and private cemeteries across the nation, our military war memorials, and every commemorative ceremony taking place this Memorial Day throughout this great country’s cities, towns, and villages. It is also attested to by those veterans seeking medical care daily in VA hospitals across the U.S., something many of us do not think about nearly enough. In the face of all that, how could anyone possibly call our veterans “suckers and losers”, especially a former president?[9] It is beyond the pale.
But then it hit me. This Memorial Day also feels particularly different for another critical reason. This might be the last Memorial Day preceding what might be our last free democratic elections.
That is because, despite these veterans’ service and sacrifice, we have Americans in our midst today assaulting the very democracy these veterans served and fought to protect and defend. This very day a major American political party and its members are hatching plans to dismantle American democracy should they retake the presidency this November.
These anti-democracy plans include converting the FBI and the Department of Justice into vehicles of vendetta totally controlled and directed by the president (through a compliant Trump appointed Attorney General and FBI Director) to prosecute the presidents “political enemies”. These plans include rounding up all immigrants thought to be here illegally and placing them in camps awaiting deportation. These plans call for seriously pursuing our exit from NATO, an alliance that has ensured peace for much of Europe since the end of World War II. And much, much more.[10]
Those are only a portion of the plans that have been crafted for what the Trump controlled GOP has in store for America if they return to the presidency. It is called Project 2025[11] (funded in large part by billionaire dark money of the Heritage Foundation) and it is available on-line for all to see. Every American should read a good “chunk” of it Project 2025 (it is voluminous) and clearly understand the grave threat to our democracy this represents, as well as how reprehensible and insulting it is to all our brave servicemen and women who have fought to defend the very democracy they seek to destroy. Former president Trump is making no secret of these plans. He is out right now on the campaign trail speaking openly about these plans to topple American democracy. He assures us he will do this, which is one of the few times he may be telling us the truth.
Something to Think About
Now, as we hear the incendiary rhetoric attacking our American democracy from within, think about those that have made it possible for us to have the democracy we have today, even with its many imperfections. Yet, even with those imperfections, would you like to give it up to someone who professes authoritarianism and will take away your role as We the People, eliminating your all-important constitutional right to provide the consent of the governed? If you are willing to give that up, what does that say to the families and descendants of all those that not only have served our nation, but put themselves in harm’s way to defend it? Who gave their lives to preserve it, not only today, but over the course of our history.
So yes, this Memorial Day I am absolutely thinking a lot about democracy from all these perspectives. And yes, I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad and how his military service played out and impacted my life. And of course, I’m thinking of my grandsons. Most of all, this Memorial Day I am thinking about the type of democracy, or if there will even be a democracy here, for my children and grandchildren to live in and enjoy.
Treasure this Memorial Day 2024
However, I know one thing for certain. I have been blessed that my dad and the millions of other Americans have served the United States military from the Revolution to the present in order to protect this democracy. They are people like you and me- people of all races, sexes, ethnicity, and economic backgrounds. They are the true “citizen-soldiers” that George Washington spoke of. They have been a building block for this democracy.
Definitely all of these things are why this Memorial Day not only seems different to me, but it seems strikingly different. Does it seem different to you? For similar reasons?
God bless all our “citizen-soldiers”, past and present. And treasure this Memorial Day, as well as all those Memorial Days hopefully to come. Treasure it for what this day means for our democracy and for those who are serving, and have served, to preserve it.
We will continue exploring topics like this that are not given near enough time and emphasis in our civic education efforts, if they are even taught at all. Democracy is so important. But it’s hard to keep, and it’s easy to lose. It’s up to us, and only us, to protect it. Support democracy, become a Democratist! Spread the word! Please share this Democraticus with others! For more information, go to www.tomthedemocratist.com
[1] New York Provincial Congress · George Washington's Mount Vernon
[2] The Air War over Europe (arcgis.com)
[3] The Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln (abrahamlincolnonline.org)
[4] Those Who Served: America's Veterans From World War II to the War on Terror, by Jonathan E. Vespa, Issued June 2020, ACS-43, (census.gov)
[5] How Many Americans Have There Been? | A Niche in the Library of Babel (babelniche.com)
[6] Those Who Served: America's Veterans From World War II to the War on Terror, by Jonathan E. Vespa, Ibid.
[7] United States military casualties of war - Wikipedia
[8] “The Citizen Soldier, Passion, Fury, Fidelity”, by Sam Smith, March 28, 2016, Updated February 7, 2024, American Battlefield Trust (battlefields.org)
[9] “John Kelly Confirms Trump Privately Disparaged U.S. Service Members and Veterans”, by Summer Concepcion, October 23, 2023 8:22am CDT, (nbcnews.com)
[10] “Trump's Second Term Plans: Wildest Proposals if He Wins 2024 Election”, by Ryan Bort, April 30, 2024, rollingstone.com, and, “Trump's Second-term Agenda: Deportations, Trade Wars, NATO Rethink”, by James Oliphant and Gram Slattery, May 21, 2024 3:34 PM CDT (updated 5 days ago), Reuters, www.reuters.com.
[11] Project 2025 | Presidential Transition Project, https://www.project 2025.org