OPRFHS Senior: 'How Can We Best Direct Our Energy In Memory of Our Fallen Soldiers?'

Oak Park and River Forest High School senior Lily Blackman wrote the following speech for the annual Memorial Day assembly, which was canceled for weather.

Memorial is the one day a year we honor and remind ourselves of the young men and women we’ve lost in service to our country. You’ll hear the national anthem ringing. You’ll see children adorned in red, white, and blue. You’ll see American flags lining the streets, a thank you to those who fought to keep them waving. These emblems of unity and pride will fill many of us with a rush of patriotic spirit. However our debt to veterans and the fallen goes far beyond symbolism and May 25th. At our best, we would commit ourselves to continuously fulfilling the obligation we incur each time a new man or woman vows to protect the constitution by serving in the armed forces.

On this day, we’ll hear many stories of bravery on the part of our military, and most of us don’t have to look far back in our own family history to find tales of wartime heroism. But rather than just telling these stories as a point of pride, they are a reminder that the history of every generation has been marked by warfare. For our parents it was the war in Vietnam, for our grandparents World War II or the Korean War, and for our generation the wars in the Middle East. The horrors of war have cost us countless lives. We share a right to disagree with the battles our country wages. But the purpose of this day is to put aside our time and our politics to honor those who fought to maintain that right.

The question is, how can we best direct our energy in memory of our fallen soldiers? We must remind ourselves, however, that this day itself was born of Civilian initiative. In the confusion and upheaval that followed the Civil War, many soldiers were laid to rest in enemy territory. In time, their graves fell into disrepair. Moved by this sight, widows of a few of the 620,000 fallen, laid flowers at their graves. The practice continued and was subsequently recognized by congress as Memorial day.

This love and appreciation is very much alive in American culture. You see it in the flags, the colors, and the songs. You see it in the YouTube videos of soldiers returning home with millions of views. You see it in the fact that we are gathered here today. But speeches and recognition are only a part of what we have the power and obligation to do. The best and the most fitting way we can honor those who didn’t make it home is to support and care for those who did.

Too many of our military are returning to insufficient jobs and medical care. We must put aside our time for volunteer work and encourage our family friends to donate to organizations for wounded soldiers like the Walter Reed Society; transitional services like Operation Purple; and counseling for the growing number of soldiers seen returning with Post Traumatic Stress and other severe emotional damages which are a frequent and profound affect of war.

Less than one half of one percent of our population is serving in the armed forces, meaning we are engaged in the longest war in American history with the smallest center of impact. This a testament to how remarkable our military and their families truly are, but also a foreboding sign that our citizens are cut off from the realities of war. Today is a time to look truth in the eye, and see the sacrifices our soldiers have and are continuing to make, and to thank those who have done so much for us and ask so little in return.