Memorial Day

The day we remember our fallen service members and begin the summer barbeque season. It's good that we take some time to honor those who've served to guard our freedoms, but I wish that we would also take some time to prevent adding to their ranks. There are wars that are just and necessary, but all too many have been fought for less than noble causes.
I never served in the military (being in the post-Vietnam years), and my family has a long history of missing wars, either serving during peacetime or not being eligible to serve (gramps had TB, and wasn't allowed to join WW11). The last of my ancestors to be injured in combat was in the war of 1812, and he survived another 42 years. So I don't have any strong family connection to our brave warrior class.
But I've known many veterans, and I've seen their pain. Our memorial should include a pledge to stop adding to their numbers needlessly. The sadly unnecessary war in Iraq has added over 4,000 new graves to be memorialized, with more to come before we find our way out. We can best honor them by preventing needless wars in the future.