Someday, when the lion lies with the lamb and neighbors everywhere love their neighbor, we humans will no longer need soldiers.  But on this day I call to mind all those ancestors and relatives who died serving a greater cause; all those who witnessed the horror of war, returned home and lived their lives with grace and courage; and all those who set out today, on my behalf, to defend and protect our nation’s freedoms.

• Abia Minor                    Pennsylvania                  Revolutionary War
• William Rowlett             Virginia                         Revolutionary War
• John Bradford               Virginia                           Revolutionary War
• William Wills Green       Virginia                           Revolutionary War
• John Pearson Minor     Pennsylvania                     War of 1812
• Greene Dodson            Virginia                          Civil War
• Ira Sayles                     New York                         Civil War
• Anderson Strickland     North Carolina                     Civil War
• George Strickland        Virginia                             World War I
• Sidney Strickland         Virginia                               World War II
• Clifford Strickland        Virginia                               World War II
• Michael Strickland        Alabama                             Vietnam War
• John Minor                   Pennsylvania                      Vietnam War
• Michael Hanlon *         Pennsylvania                       Currently Serving

This Friday we stop to remember the courage and sacrifice of these Americans, and the support and perseverance of their families.  Thank you.

*My daughter’s childhood friend since Kindergarten, expected to be deployed in Afghanistan early 2012.

Originally posted here on Memorial Day 2011.