As the day dawns on this Memorial Day, this day has come to mean many different things to many different people. For some, it is the opening of the BBQ season. For others, it is the start of summer. For many of us veterans, it is a day to honor those warriors who laid down their lives on the battlefields in all of America’s Wars. For me, Memorial Day means that and more.
As you know I am a proud Veteran of this nation’s armed services. I, like many of you, am part of a family who has a legacy of service in the armed forces. I fervently believe that those who have laid down their lives on the battlefield in service to this nation should be honored and remembered. It is important that as a free nation we remember the cost of freedom is paid by the blood of our sons and daughters. But this day also recognizes those who didn’t make it all the way back home. We know every year members of the armed forces die from injuries and diseases they received while in service to this nation. In my own family I had two uncles who served honorably on the battlefields of Vietnam.
They came back to us when there tour was done but during their time of service they were exposed to psychological, and unseen psysiological harms that didn’t fullytake its toll until many years later.
My uncle James for example was exposed to agent orange numerous times during is service. He suffered those effects and ultimately, they were the cause of his death. I honor my uncle James on Memorial Day because while he may not have perished on the battlefield his death was directly related to his time on that battlefield.
My Uncle Emanuel, James’ baby brother, is yet another exampleof how what happens on the battlefield can and often doesmanifest itself years after they have come home. My uncle Emanuel, my personal hero the man who taught me what it means to be a man and inspired my desire to serve my nation and community took his own life one evening and I was notthere to offer any comfort to him. I wasn’t there to inspire him to live one more day. It hurts me to this day that I could do nothing to save him after he gave so much to me and this nation. I honor and remember my uncle Emanuel on Memorial Day because while he may not have perished on the battlefield his death was directly related to his time on that battlefield.
Many of our loved ones come back from war but don’t come completely home. Some have physical wounds others have unseen wounds. After more than 20 years of war we know the heavy toll, this war has taken in terms of those who have died on the battlefield and those who continue to die by suicide, diseases contracted from burn pits and other causes in service to this nation. It is important that we honor all those warriors for the sacrifices they have made. Equally important is to support those warriors through the passage of the Honoring our Pact Act H.R. 3967. It took 40 years before our nation recognized how agent orange used in the Vietnam jungles has affected our Vietnam Veterans. We can’t wait 40 years to recognize how Burn Pits have affected our current servicemembers.
This Memorial Day along with honoring those who have died on the battlefield in defense of this nation we Veterans and non-Veterans, must urge all our Senators to support the Honoring our Pact Act – H.R. 3967 in memory of those who have died and those who are currently suffering from the unseen injuries they suffered as a result of their service.
Bless our honored dead, bless their families and bless all of you.
Author: Autrey James
Autrey James is 2021-22 Department of California commander.
