"But fame is theirs - and future days
On pillar'd brass shall tell their praise;
Shall tell - when cold neglect is dead -
"These for their country fought and bled."
~Philip Freneau
Today, this Veteran's day, the daddy is praying for the end of war in Iraq, for closer monitoring and enforcement of laws against those who assault our women in uniform, and for greater funding and less red tape to help soldiers who come home from war injured mentally, physically, and spiritually.
A Veteran's Day Prayer
by Rev. Scott Elliott
Good and loving God we are gathered here today on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It is the traditional day for Veteran’s Day and our thoughts are of the women and men who have served our nation in times of war and truce. We stand before you grateful for the dedication of these heros who have lived and died, suffered and cried and stood with pride on ship, battlefield and parade ground.
We ask that these women and men experience your healing and comforting presence for the wounds they have known and still know, for the losses they have endured and always will endure. We also ask that your healing and comforting presence be experienced by the families and loved ones who have suffered with them and who have had to endure living without them.
We especially ask that your presence be experienced by the veterans of tomorrow, those soldiers and sailors who are in harm’s way today. Please, gracious God, guide them to safety, guide them to justice and righteousness in even the toughest of conditions. Bring them home to their families and loved ones. Comfort those families and loved ones, and teach us how we might help them with their troubles and be your compassionate presence to them as they experience anxiousness, anguish and the loneliness and pain that comes with the knowns and unknowns of war.
Finally, God, for veterans, for all who are in the service, for America, for the world, we pray for peace. Lead the leaders of the world to the day when “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; [to a day when] nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more” (Isa 2:4).
We long for your peace, for your shalom.
In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
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6 comments:
Hello -- Thanks for your commemorative posts.
My father was born on November 11, 1911. He is gone now, but we always had a good time on his birthday. Leonard Kimball didn't serve in the military (he was 4-F had "flat feet") but he always supported the troops.
I was born in 1939, during that time of strife. My parents told me they couldn't afford another child due to the wartime economy. I remember saving lard in cans, and rolling up big balls of aluminum wrap. Mother used to use rationing stamps. For a long time, I can remember pretending that Dentyne gum was really bubble gum, because they either discontinued the rubbery ingredients or made other products with it. I can vaguely recall FDR's "Fireside Chats" but not sure because I have heard them over and over in my radio and TV classes.
Peace, love and happiness to you and all readers here,
EK
Thanks MsDaddy,
Thanks for reminding us to remember all those who faught and still fight for this country, and thank you for also reminding us about the pain that their families alo must endure in these troubled times.
Ellen: Thanks for the family story. I'm sure you're proud of him for supporting our soldiers. But it sounds like your mother did her part as well.
somebodiesfriend: Thanks. The media needs to do better in pointing out not only the physical and mental stress on our soldiers. They need to tell the story of the financial sacrifice of the soldier's family as well. And sometimes the soldier comes back and finds out that he has lost his job. This has occurred a lot for Iraqi soldiers, when they have done two or three terms of duties and sometimes ordered to stay longer over there. And you can understand the business point of view of needing to hire someone to do the work. Still, it places yet another financial burden on military families.
Cincinnatus the great Roman general and American general Putnam during the Revolution both dropped their plows and came to the aid of their contries when needed and returned to their plows after the war was over. I applaud our veterans of the past and pray for those in harms way and their families on this Veteran's Day. We owe to them and their blood our very right to dissent.
On my local Veterans' Walk of Remembrance, where my Dobie and I walk on Sundays is this plaque, dedicated to WW II Vets, attributed to British classicist John Maxwell Edwards:
When you go home
Tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrow
We gave our today
rainywalker: I like your knowledge of history.
vigilante: Beautiful. I'd like to use it in a future blog.
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