15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry MonumentWest Woods, Antietam National Battlefield, May 23, 2009, 9:30 a.m.
A Sonnet For Memorial Day
"It was George Orwell who said: 'People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.' We are here to honor those who went to war and did not mean to die, but did die grievously -- in 1861 and 2004, though they were as peaceable as you or me. Young and cheerful, knowing little of horror, singers and athletes and all-in-all well bred. Good sergeants turned them into warriors and in the end, they were moving straight ahead. As we look at these headstones, row on row on row, let us see them as they were-- laughing and joking in that bright irreverent morning long ago and once more let our hearts be broken. God have mercy on them for their unhappy gift, may we live the good lives they would have lived." -- Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion, May 24, 2008
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2 comments:
Well said Jim. Well said.
Ahh, that's very nice.
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