"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
Memorial Day has changed for me since my nephew
Gunnery Sgt Ryan Jeschke, USMC, was killed in Afghanistan in August 2012. In
the past, I honored the memory of my husband’s Marine Corps family members who
had faithfully served our country, but who died in their beds after living a
full life. Now Memorial Day is not only
a day of remembrance; it is a day of mourning.
While most Americans play and picnic and mark the
beginning of summer fun, I know Ryan’s young wife, mom and dad, sisters, aunts
and uncles, cousins, and friends are marking another reminder of his ultimate
sacrifice to enable all of us to enjoy the freedom to play and picnic.
In another conflict, one hundred and fifty years
ago, Unions and Confederate troops clashed on the rolling fields of the
Shenandoah Valley near New Market, Virginia. Among them were teenaged cadets
sent up as reserves from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), ten of whom
lost their young lives. Although the South’s struggle to uphold slavery was
morally indefensible and rightly defeated, these boys were fighting to protect
their homeland, families, and friends. They were all, on both sides, mothers’
sons.
With the 150th anniversary of many Civil
War battles, my husband and I have been visiting battlefields: Gettysburg as
well as Manassas/Bull Run and Bristow Station, which are near where we live. A
month ago we decided to walk the New Market battlefield with our son, who was
graduating from nearby Eastern Mennonite University. We had heard the tragic
story of the fallen cadets back in the fall when we had toured VMI, my
father-in-law’s alma mater. We walked through the meadow, named the “Field
of Lost Shoes” because torrential rains had turned the
field into a muddy bog, which pulled off the boys’ boots and shoes as they
charged barefoot up the long hill. Walking a battlefield is a moving and sobering
experience. One can easily imagine the flying bullets and the falling men—all mothers’
sons.
In one of those amazing providences, on our return
from this excursion, we received an invitation to the premiere of a new feature
film, Field of Lost Shoes, which
opened the 8th annual GI Film Festival held in conjunction with
Memorial Day observances here in the nation’s capital. A dear friend from college and one of my
husband’s groomsmen, David M. Kennedy, wrote and produced the film. Dave is an Irish-Catholic
genius, who was the President of the College of Arts & Sciences at the
University of Virginia, a Commander in the Navy, a top-gun pilot, and the
military consultant for films like Pearl
Harbor and Behind Enemy Lines. We
had last seen Dave at Arlington National Cemetery for the burial of his brother
alongside his oldest brother, a hero killed in action in Vietnam. While there,
Dave took the time to visit Ryan’s grave with us, where he and his son Sam, a
ROTC student at UVA, gave Ryan an honor salute. Needless to say, we were very
touched by their tribute.
For many years, Dave had dreamed of making a feature
film about the VMI cadets who fought and died at New Market. What a thrill to
be invited as his “honored guests” to the premiere of this dream fulfilled. We hope Field
of Lost Shoes will get the attention and distribution it deserves. I’m pleased to say that the film is excellent
and a moving tribute to these mothers’ sons.
This weekend I trust we will all take the time to
pause and remember the many men and women (sons and daughters all) in countless conflicts, who have laid down their lives to protect our
homeland and our freedom. And while we remember and honor the fallen, please
pray for their families who are also remembering---and mourning.
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