Memorial Day Speech Rick Bremseth

Good morning Mayor Fraser, Town Council members, and Guests,

I am honored and also humbled to have been asked to speak today.
During the course of my life, I have often heard it said, Nothing lasts forever, but I believe this
axiom is not true. I believe what lasts forever are not the things we can perceive with our senses
but rather the things we feel in our hearts - like love of our families, love of our fellow man, love
of country, and love of freedom and liberty.
Many years ago during a conversation with a fellow officer about what could and could not be
proven, this officer said that he doubted anything that could not be scientifically or quantifiably
measured and I understood that. However, I then asked him, What are the most important
things to you in your life? Unhesitatingly, he replied, My wife, my kids, my family. When I
responded, Okay, go ahead and prove it, he half smiled and then said, Yeah. He understood
as I think most or many of us know that the most important things in life are not the things that
can be measured or quantified - but rather only those things that can be felt from the heart. This
is the human experience, and why I believe we are here today.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day because graves were decorated, was instituted
in 1868 as a day of remembrance for those who were killed during the Civil War. Since World
War I, however, it has been observed as a federal holiday on the last Monday in May in
remembrance of all Americans killed in wars. And it should always be so because the men and
women, (and by extension, their family members and loved ones), who sacrificed themselves for
this great nation and our liberties did so for a far greater cause than themselves - - perhaps
exemplifying that when one really loves something like ones country, it never really dies, it
transcends the boundaries of time, and, in fact, is worth the ultimate sacrifice.
Today, some people, particularly if they are not affiliated in any way with our military men and
women, may simply think of Memorial Day as a three day weekend, a reason to barbeque, or a
weekend of great sales. These viewpoints are understandable - - but I believe they lack
perspective and the reason why we observe Memorial Day, which is much, much more relevant.
This is a day for introspection about the true cost of freedom and liberty that we all enjoy in
America. As stated by President Ronald Reagan during one of his Memorial Day speeches, The
United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure
and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a
burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we in
a less final, less heroic way be willing to give of ourselves.
What I believe President Reagan meant was that every American, and not just members of the
military, has an obligation to pay, in some manner, for the upholding of our freedoms, especially
if we want our country and everything it represents to endure and to remain the beacon of hope
and the one nation of opportunity - where anything is possible.
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During his 1986 Memorial Day speech honoring Vietnam veterans at Arlington National
Cemetery, President Reagan also stated, We owe them something, those boys. We owe them
first a promise: That just as they did not forget their missing comrades, neither, ever, will we.
And there are other promises. We must always remember that peace is a fragile thing that needs
constant vigilance. We owe them a promise to look at the world with a steady gaze and, perhaps,
a resigned toughness - knowing that we have adversaries in the world and challenges - and the
only way to meet them and maintain the peace is by staying strong.
Indeed, such strength is exemplified in love of country and liberty. This is why we set aside one
day each year to honor the fallen because we would not be here today if not for their valor,
commitment, and willingness to pay the ultimate price that was necessary for the greater good.
Yet, while I believe introspection is warranted, I also agree with our 23rd president, Benjamin
Harrison, in office 1888 until 1892, [ and grandson of our 9th president, William Henry
Harrison], who stated, I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning. I have
never been able to feel that half masked flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather
felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in
seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant
commemoration of what they did. Had I been present at that time, I would have said, Here,
here! May they all continue to rest in peace!
To conclude, Id like to share with you Bugs Prayer, a prayer written by John Bug Roach
(1944-1991), Commander, United States Navy, who died resulting from a Navy aircraft accident.
Bug Roach strongly believed that the collective was worth mention, and his words remain as
relevant today as they were when he first wrote them.
Lord, we are the nation!
We celebrate our birthday on July 4th, 1776, with the Declaration of Independence as our birth
certificate. The bloodlines of the world run in our veins because we offer freedom and liberty to
all whom are oppressed. We are many things and many people. We are the nation.
We sprawl from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to Alaska and Hawaii. Three million square miles
throbbing with industry and with life. We are the forest, field, mountain, and desert. We are the
wheat fields of Kansas, the granite hills of Vermont, and snow-capped peaks of the Sierra
Nevada. We are the Brooklyn Bridge, we are the grain elevators in the farm belt, and we are the
Golden Gate. We are the nation.
We are over (he wrote 213 million at the time) 360 million living souls, and yet we are the ghosts
of millions who have lived and died for us. We are Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. We are
Washington, Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. We are Lee, Grant, Abe Lincoln, and George Bush.
[In retrospect, I believe Bug would have included Martin Luther King]. We are the famous and
the unknown. We are presidents, we are paupers. We are the nation.
We stood at Lexington and fired the shot heard around the world. We remember the Alamo, the
Maine, Pearl Harbor, Inchon, and the Persian Gulf. When freedom calls, we answer. We left
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our heroic dead at Belleau Wood, on the rock of Corrregidor, on the bleak slopes of Korea, in the
steaming jungles of Vietnam, and under the rubble of Beirut. We are the nation.
We are schools and colleges, churches and synagogues. We are a ballot dropped in a box, the
harmonious voice of a choir in a cathedral, the crack of a bat, and the roar of a crowd in a
stadium. We are craftsman, teachers, businessmen, and judges. We are soldiers, sailors, and
airmen. We are peaceful villages, small towns, and cities that never sleep. Yes, we are the
nation, and these are the things that we are.
We were conceived in freedom, and dear God, if you are willing, in freedom we will spend the
rest of our days. May we always be thankful for the blessings you have bestowed upon us. May
we be humble to the less fortunate and assist those in need. May we never forget the continuing
costs of freedom. May we always remember that if we are to remain the land of the free, we
must continue always to be the home of the brave. May our wishbone never be found where our
backbone should be. May we possess always, the integrity, the courage, and the strength to keep
ourselves unshackled, to remain always a citadel of freedom, and a beacon of hope to the world.
We are the nation..this is our wish.this is our hope, and this is our prayer. Amen.
This is why we observe Memorial Day.
Thank you, please enjoy this great Memorial Day. God bless all of you, and God Bless
America.