As rightly said by General MacArthur:" However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country is the noblest development of mankind".
There were tears and hope and years of waiting, because he wasn't "known but to God".
If he was your ancestor, then you know that feelings of both heartbreak and honor are echoing every time you light a candle for him. His fighting spirit is still here, making and breaking families, pointing at cowards, helping you to do the right thing. You'll probably never figure on Forbes' list, but every time you say a costly or a dangerous "No", you know you are the one who got the family's greatest treasure: the Unknown Soldier's legacy.
If you think you don't count and nobody cares, than think twice. There was someone who did love you enough to die for you. Thousands of true warriors did.
A country's fighting capacity depends not only on active duty soldiers, but on citizens who salute them and who live by the rules of patriotic conduct. Many of our soldiers never retire: they are true guardians of our laws and liberties, protecting the country for all their lives. No matter if these heroes are 25 or 95 years old, there's no oppressor foreign or domestic that will ever silence them.
There are battles being fought as we are speaking: thousands of soldiers whose names you'll never know are fighting for their lives on the streets of their own country. Some of them have been waiting for shelter for years, some so exhausted that they can barely move in their wheelchairs. They are fined for sleeping in a car or sitting on the street, jailed and given a criminal record if they can't pay. Many die on the streets as unknown soldiers.
A Commander-in-chief who turns our veterans into fallen soldiers, perishing on the streets of the very country they defended, should not be allowed to lay a meaningless wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. How do you honor the dead, when you insult the living?
A widow of WW2 "unknown soldier", said:
"The monuments are built so that the politicians can put some flowers once a year and have their photos taken. If you really care for our fallen heroes, then do something to thank them: love your country, put up a fight for our veterans and protect the gift of freedom.
Never give up".
