The following words were spoken by a solemn president at the Gettysburg battlefield still freshly damp with the blood of those brave souls lost in a struggle over ideals…

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

… The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. … It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Read that again. Understand what is being said. A man, who happened to be president, was paying tribute to the sacrifice made by young men in a battle over the definition of freedom. Standing in blood soaked dirt surrounding by thousands of rotting bodies, he then challenged those still living to continue the fight for freedom so that they “shall not have died in vain” in their efforts to forge a new destiny for man in a land known as America.

So as we eat our hamburgers and complain about who won “American Idol,” let us take a second or two to remember those who sacrificed their lives so that we may live in the greatest nation on Earth: the soldier. As we remember all the men and women of the armed forces, something tells me that they’d prefer we remember what they fought for – an idea, a vision of a nation where little girls can dream of becoming president and one that gives little boys the chance to choose between being a fireman and a rocket scientist.

Americans are again fighting against one another, and it seems that we’ve lost something. However, in that struggle over ideals is the precise magic that is America. A land where ideas are not killed, dreams are celebrated, and anyone can create a better life for themselves with enough determination and gumption.

So on Memorial Day, tell a soldier thank you. Then turn to their family and give them the warmest smile and thank you that you can muster because behind every soldier is a scared mom, a proud dad, a lonely husband or wife and a small child dreaming of seeing Mommy or Daddy again.

God Bless the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

The last bite…

If you have a family member who served our country take them to a wonderful dinner and spectacular performance of the “Victory Belles” at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. The meal will delight and the show is packed with memories of times gone by and salutes to the branches of our military. I give our soldiers and their families 5 (out of 5) crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.