Memorial Day

This essay and watching Saving Private Ryan did it for me. I don't need a soldier's grave. I have a photo of one uncle who died in the South Pacific and the diary of another from the four years he spent in Japanese prison camps. I have profound and deep respect for those who serve in our military.

I think a President has two responsibilities as commander in chief. The first is to explain things to the people before he sends our troops into war and give them a chance to withhold their approval. That won't guarantee that Vietnam type fiascos won't occur, but at least we shouldn't say we were not told why, as the left has convinced itself was the case. What I don't understand is how I understood the purpose of the war and why it was worth doing but the whole media and a major political party thinks it was lied to. Nobody lied to me, except those who voted to support the war and then for political advantage have weaseled out.

The second responsibility of the C-in-C is to give our men and women the best equipment and support we have and a clear objective. And don't settle for anything less than a win. People will sacrifice to accomplish something good, such as overthrowing a despot, but not to restore the status quo ante.