I found this speech, among my fathers papers after he passed away, I have transcribed it verbatim, and thought I would share this with you.
Memorial Day, June 1, 1952
Our fathers and our sons and our brothers have bequeathed to us a heritage of duty forged in the terrible heat of battle.
We gather here among familiar surroundings on this quiet Sunday afternoon to do honor to these fathers, and to these sons, and to these brothers who have so freely given of their earthly life, in order that this rich heritage might be ours.
We speak of honor these soldiers who have answered their last muster. We speak of memorial services for these dead.
An eloquent statesman of a departed generation once defined a memorial as being a series of things or events which keep the history of the past alive in the present.
Is it not fitting that if we wish to truly honor and preserve the memory of our former comrades, we should preserve and maintain, untarnished, and unblemished the heritage which they forged for us at such terrible cost?
By its very nature, service to one’s country in the time of war might be, and can be, described in a single word—Duty. Just as a soldier owes a duty, the victory brought about by the devotion to duty of these soldiers imposes a like duty upon us who were so fortunate to return.
Yes, it imposes a duty upon us all, and how well or how poorly we perform this duty will be inscribed upon the parchment pages of history. If we perform our duty well, we have truly honored and preserve the memory of those whom we speak; if we fail, however, we have also failed to honor and preserve the memory of these dead.
That bearded, scholarly, military genius, “Stonewall” Jackson, once describe war and duties of a soldier thusly:
“War means fighting. The business of a soldier is to fight. Armies are not called out to dig trenches, to throw up breastworks, to live in camps, but to find the enemy and strike him; to invade his country and to do him all possible damage in the shortest possible time. This will involve great destruction of life and property while it last; but such a war will of necessity be of brief continuance and so would be an economy of life and property in the end. To move swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of victory is the secret of successful war.”
Can we not paraphrase these words when describing our own duties: can we not say that we must move surely, act vigorously, and secure all of the fruits of victory made possible by the sacrifices of our dead?
Let us ponder. Let us reason and let us act—in such a manner that we perform well our duty and thereby preserve our heritage.
by Henry J. Foresman Esquire, Captain Army of the United States (Retired)
