The distinguished people who sacrificed their lives did not defend America only; they protected the value and the dignity of all the American people as well. It takes an ultimate belief and immense faith to die for the cause which is America: the USA has long been a haven for freedom seekers. To honor the elites who sacrificed their lives in order to clear the path for the rest of us to pursue our dreams requires us to keep this path clear.
Definitely, there is no word to be expressed or a reward to be presented to those soldiers whose souls became lights to brighten American society. The difference between American soldiers and other nations’ soldiers appears in self-sacrifice, as Americans voluntarily join the military while many nations in the world have a mandatory military service.
Obviously, the distinction of the U.S. military is in defending all human beings across the world. It is the highest sense of humanity and the consciousness to step up beyond the American borders to defend oppressed people overseas. The American military throughout history has been an example of bravery in the world.
I perceive the U.S. military as a special generation per se, and the definition of patriotism is contained in the American soldiers. Undoubtedly, America would not have been able to evolve without the men and women of the U.S. military. It is a sacred duty to believe in self-sacrifice and become a shield to protect others.
On this Memorial Day, Americans are remembering and honoring the sacrifices of the troops, but not everyone feels the pain to the bone and the tearing down of the blood through the eyes. Not everyone jumps at the sound of the fireworks thinking it is the enemy’s rockets and mortars, and not everyone has flashbacks except those who wrestled with the fear and breathed the smoke of the bombs on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, not everyone thinks about the level of the threats that America is facing and to what degree many countries want to take us down.
American soldiers have never truly been defeated and will not accept defeat. Victory is in the military’s hand, as defeat can only be brought by some politicians but nor forever. America has one definition in the soldiers’ mind, which is “The Nation of All.”
The unbreakable chain of American troops stretches a long way back and their strength and the persistence has no end in their philosophy. We need to realize that Memorial Day is not limited to only one day per year. The ongoing memorial is every day and the soldiers’ souls will always live on.
-Serwan Zangana supported Operation Iraqi Freedom as a U.S Army translator before coming to the U.S from Kurdistan, Iraq in 1997 to seek political asylum. He was granted asylum status and years later proudly became a U.S citizen. He currently serves as a correction officer in Roanoke.
