Saluting the Ranger Graduating Class. Photo: D. Paul Graham, “Rangers Lead The Way”, Fort Benning GA, Ranger Grad School.

“Monday 5 Things”™ ….. “General” Thoughts for Today …..

Memorial Day is a day to give honor to those men and women who gave the ultimate price of their lives fighting for our freedom. Today, take a moment to really listen to the words of this country’s amazing national anthem. Today, take a moment to look at an American flag fluttering on a flagpole. Today, take a moment to reflect on the life you live today. Today, take a moment to say a prayer of thankfulness and humility for those that fought and died for us. This morning’s M5T shares five quotes about Memorial Day from famous U.S. generals that led many of those that died in battle.

1. GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN. On 3 March 1868,Logan issued General Order No. 11, which called for a National Day of Remembrance for Civil War dead. This order served as the basis for what became the national holiday of Memorial Day. “Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

2. GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON. Patton was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”

3. GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR. MacArthur was a five-star American U.S.general who commanded the Pacific forces in World War II, oversaw the occupation of Japan, and led U.N. forces in the Korean War. “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”

4. GENERAL NORMAN SCHWARZKOPF. Schwarzkopf was the S. General who commanded Operation Desert Storm, the American-led military action that liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation during the Persian Gulf War (1991). “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”

5. GENERAL JOHN M. “JACK” KEANE. Keane was a four-star general, who after 37 years in the Army was appointed as acting Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. General Keane was in the Pentagon on 9/11 and provided oversight and support for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “On this Memorial Day, let us honor the fallen, and rededicate ourselves to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”

Here’s to taking pause today, and this week, to reflect with respect, gratitude, and solemn remembrance of what Memorial Day truly means for the life we live because of the sacrifices of others.

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For over 12 years, D. Paul Graham has published “Monday 5 Things” ™, also known to readers as M5T™.

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