Veteran's Day 2021

11 November 2021

Veteran's Day commemorates the veterans of all wars. It is a day on which we give thanks for their service and commemorate the wars in which they served. We recall the battles in which veterans fought and died: Gallipoli and Verdun of WW I, Iwo Jima, Anzio, and D-Day during WW II, and Inchon during the Korean War. Tet and the Fall of Saigon echo in the memories of us baby boomers whether we served or not. The current administration's mishandling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan will enrage veterans for a long time.

The philosophical and theological understandings of conflict and war have also changed since World Wars I and II. It is unlikely that either "Over There," George M. Cohan's patriotic WW I song, or Frank Loesser's WW II vintage "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" would be written today or become the hits they were at the time. The trenches, hand-to-hand combat, and bayonets of WW I were replaced by a powerful air force and bombs with extraordinary destructive potential by WW II. Today, missiles can be deployed via computer. Drones can destroy with almost surgical precision. The risk of sophisticated chemical and biological warfare is all too real, particularly in view of 'gain of function' research purportedly conducted in Wuhan. All of these developments have affected the experience of those called to fight wars.

The response of American society to the military and veterans has also changed several times over the decades. The ticker-tape parades welcoming veterans home from World Wars I and II contrast sharply with the vitriolic ugliness, venom, and cruelty dished out to veterans of Vietnam by so-called 'peaceniks.' Ironically those who accused them of being 'baby killers' have jumped on the abortion as women's health bandwagon with a vengeance. One can only comment on professional athletes, college athletes, and pathetic high school children taking a knee during the National Anthem by refraining from further comment. There are some words and concepts that cannot be shared from a pulpit.

Wars define the generations that fought them as well as the generation or two that follow. My dad, born in 1905, was too young for WW I. However, he served four years in Europe as a physician in the Army medical corps during WW II. Like many veterans, he rarely spoke about his experiences, except the funny ones; and they were few. He told me a few things that he told no one else in the family. Those confidences continue to influence my life as a physician as well as priest. After working as a psychiatrist at a Veteran's Hospital for four years before entering the Society of Jesus twenty-four years ago, I learned how much every vet I treated was affected.

The sacrifices veterans made--and the sacrifices members of the military continue to make--are oftentimes discounted or ignored. Future plans, family life, education, jobs . . . all these are put on hold when one is called or volunteers to serve in the armed forces. Injuries may short circuit life plans. The risk of death needs no elaboration. At other times military service opens up previously undreamed of opportunities and paths of life.

Anonymity and hiddenness describe the lives of most members of the military. The fame of the veteran is the hiddenness of his or her service. The reward for doing a job day by day is little recognition or appreciation from those who they defend. The task for those of us who are descendants of veterans is to keep their memories and stories alive, stories they shared reluctantly. Only by keeping those memories alive do we learn from them and teach later generations.

We hear in Matthew's Beatitudes "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." But the harsh reality is that sometimes peace can only be accomplished through war. Peace may only be possible by responding to enemy threats with force despite the pious pronouncements and prescriptions of religious leaders of all stripes.

Ideally swords will be pounded into plowshares and spears will be turned into pruning hooks. But, at times, plowshares must be reworked into swords and pruning hooks reforged into spears. The reality of the human condition is that we are sinners whose sins manifest in actions that may threaten the lives and safety of others. When a critical mass is reached, those sins ignite the fuse that leads to war. This has been true since the beginning of time and it will be true until the end of time.

Thus our gratitude to those who served, to the veterans who risked everything to ensure our safety and freedom.

And we pray for them.

_____________________

The photos below are of the veterans' memorial that stood in front of the high school in my hometown of Plymouth, PA. Small town that is now rapidly dying. The large monument is older than I am. It has always been there. The Vietnam monument commemorating the men from town who died there was much later. I knew and went to school with four of the men and one was a classmate of my older sister.

I will admit that the first photo had some ugly power lines running through the middle of the sky. Thanks to the new processing program they are gone. I took the photos in November of 2019 which is the last time I was able to get down there from Boston.

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD