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Memorial Day message

By GEORGE P. BASHER

On Memorial Day people of all ages across the state will pause to remember the sacrifices of men and women who died in service to America. It is a legacy that is timeless. One hundred and thirty-three years ago citizens of the upstate New York community of Waterloo took time out from their spring chores to remember family members and neighbors who gave their lives in the terrible Civil War that had divided our nation.

And, in 1999, with our country galvanized in a renewed spirit of patriotism, we again pause in the hustle and bustle of life to honor those who have died so that others -- at home and around the world -- can enjoy the freedoms of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The great debt we owe those who died for our nation and its principles can never be repaid. We can, however, take a few minutes on this special day to give thanks to those who made the ultimate sacrifice out of love for their country.

And, at the same time, we can offer a prayer for America's sons and daughters who today stand in harm's way in defense of innocent victims of a brutal oppressor of freedom-loving people.

Memorial Day is not a day of sorrow, but rather a time for solemn reflection. Whether at public ceremonies or in a private moment over a loved one's final resting place, Memorial Day offers us an opportunity to think about our country and our way of life, and those whose spirit, pride and courage have preserved a lifestyle eagerly embraced by people throughout the world.

More than a million men and women have died defending our nation and opposing tyranny on distant shores. They did not go to war because they wanted to die, but, rather, they went out of a sense of honor, duty and dedication to the principles and freedoms by which we live.

By observing Memorial Day we ensure that their memory and spirit did not die with them, whether on a cornfield in Gettysburg, a beachhead in Normandy, a jungle in Southeast Asia or barren desert sands of the Mid-East.

On this Memorial Day, we must also remember those Veterans who returned home physically and emotionally scarred by the horrors of war -- horrors that continue to haunt them years and decades after the battles ended.

We have a responsibility to our combat-disabled -- an obligation that can not be discharged by the passage of time, or excused by fiscal constraints.

Today a new generation of Veterans is being sent to confront an armed enemy. At the same time, our nation is fiscally constraining the ability of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to meet the health needs of previous generations of servicemen and women.

That is unconscionable. If we commit our nation's youth to war, we must commit to caring for them when they come home. We must make sure our VA hospitals and clinics are adequately staffed, supplied with the best possible equipment and fully funded to provide for any and all medical services our Veterans need to ease their suffering.

In our prayers on Memorial Day we give thanks to our war dead and reassure them that their sacrifices were not made in vain. And on this special day, we also can show our appreciation for all Veterans by demanding that America remember and fulfill its commitment to care for those whom have borne the battle.

[George P. Basher is Director of the New York State Division of Veterans' Affairs.]