Kevin Kamenetz
Memorial Day Observance
May 29, 2011
Good afternoon everyone, I am honored to be here on behalf of the people of Baltimore County to recognize the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans.
90 years ago, this monument was erected by the members of the American Legion Towson Post 22 to commemorate those Baltimore County soldiers who died an ocean away in World War I, a conflict that was called the war to end all wars.
Sadly, that hopeful description proved to be an empty dream. A scant 18 years after this monument was placed here, the world found itself plunged into a second world war that eclipsed every conflict in human history. However, that First World War marked an important turning point in how this nation, and the entire world, viewed war.
The brutality of that war ended once and for all the notion that war was some sort of great adventure, providing opportunities to win honor and glory. Through the new technology of photography and film, the world was an immediate witness to the horrors of war, and when its veterans returned to their neighborhoods and workplaces, people saw that the scars of war can take longer to heal than a stay in the hospital.
However, that experience did more than just changed the way we viewed war, it changed how we saw those who left home to fight. They were no longer swashbuckling heroes, off to conquer distant enemies. No, they were something better than that. They were ordinary men, and now ordinary women, who left home to endure the worst hell imaginable to defend the lives and liberty of people they had never even met. They were true heroes.
Since those brave Americans listed on this monument gave their lives for this country, the men and women of our armed forces have defended us on the shores of Normandy, the hills of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of Afghanistan, and the streets of Iraq. Their valor does every citizen of this country proud, and we all owe them a debt that can never be repaid. So we must do what we can to give our veterans the care, support, and respect that they deserve. And when peace is impossible, and our soldiers once again find themselves in harm’s way, let us remember the words of Abraham Lincoln, “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.”
