Memorial Day Speech– for Tejanos in Action
This morning I spoke at a Memorial Day ceremony held at the Travis County International Cemetery. A group of Hispanic vets tends the graves of indigent American veterans buried in the cemetery. The place is one of those plots of ground with a decidedly checkered past. In the 19th century it was a “paupers graveyard.” The county buried small pox victims at the site, and –according to one of the officers in Tejanos in Action– victims of a plague that struck in the early 20th century were buried there as well. I suspect the land served as “a Negro cemetery” and “a Mexican cemetery.”
Approximately twenty years ago Tejanos in Action started fixing up the cemetery and handling the burials of indigent veterans.
In early May Tejanos in Action asked me to speak at this year’s Memorial Day ceremony, held today, May 28. At events like these I always wonder what I need to say–but I know what I must say. They asked me to wear my uniform– it was raining so I wore my DCUs instead of greens. My wife also tagged along– she was dressed to the nines, despite the bad weather.
Note the mother of Lance-Corporal Nicholas S. Perez, USMC, was in attendance. Lance-Corporal Perez was killed in action on September 3, 2004, in Iraq. (He was 19 years old.) My wife and Mrs. Valdez had a nice chat before the service. A number of Lance-Corporal Perez’ family members and friends also came. They wore t-shirts with his picture on it.
An honor guard from Tejanos in Action conducted the flag ceremony. A bugler played taps and the honor guard fired a 21-gun salute. Tejanos in Action commander Jose Montoya introduced me. Another honor guard –this one composed of high school students from a school service club and drill team– stood to my side and behind me. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to give a speech “in the round,” and it a peculiar kind of challenge.
Here’s the text of today’s speech:
I am honored to be asked to speak on behalf of Tejanos in Action here at the Travis County International Cemetery.
At one time this cemetery is what another era called a Potter’s Field or Pauper’s Graveyard – a grave site for the destitute, for the disenfranchised, for the socially disdained, for those grand society might conveniently forget.
Of course Tejanos in Action has changed that sad legacy,–flipped it completely — and much for the better, for this cemetery is now dedicated to remembering, not forgetting. Thank you and your organization for this gift which enriches our history and in doing so enriches our spirit and in doing so enriches our democracy. The mission of each generation is to take what we have and do better, do more with it. Liberty gives us this chance, to choose to take a sad and forgotten plot and turn it into a beautiful, peaceful place.
We know why we are here to remember—it’s out duty as citizens, as veterans, and as free men and women.
Memorial Day is about taking a moment to reflect and to remember, to reflect and to respect the special gift of those who did their duty.
Memorial Day is a time to recall the personal and shared sacrifice, recognizing what the dead we honor did for each of us individually and for America as a nation, recognizing what those who serve us today are risking for our sake.
Military service is hard service. Everyone who’s ever worn the uniform knows that. It is a special burden, particularly in a free society.
In some ways it is the hardest job as well as the most necessary job. It is the job of the soldier that makes our liberty possible, and it is our liberty that makes everything else possible.
I want to thank Yolanda Valdez, mother of Lance Corporal Nicholas Perez who served in Iraq last year with the 3/7 Marines and was killed in action last September. Thank you Mrs. Valdez for your son’s bravery and sacrifice, and your bravery and sacrifice.
I never knew the men and women we are here to honor today. I only know they were Americans who wore the uniform of soldiers, sailors marines, and airmen. But that is enough, in fact, that is more than enough for all of us who come to this cemetery.
For the service of these men and women buried here we are thankful. God Bless them ––and may God grant us peace.
copyright Austin Bay May 27, 2005 all rights reserved
After the ceremony we stood around and talked. Many of the men in Tejanos in Action are Vietnam vets. One of the girls in the high school honor guard will be a freshman this Fall at the University of Texas. She wants to go to law school and eventually become a judge. My wife got her name– my wife’s firm is always looking for quality summer hires and quality “runners” during the school year. This young lady has quite a resume’ and she looked extra sharp in her camouflage drill team uniform.
Alas, Newsweek and Al Jazeera didn’t send reporters. I didn’t see Linda Foley there, either, or Eason Jordan. Believe me, Tejanos in Action would have been glad to have them.
UPDATE: Nice post from neo-neocon. She says the speech inspired her. Note how she carefully examines — and gently excoriates– the reactionary Left’s utopian solipsism. She calls it a dreamworld. Okay, fair word, but I think the “dreamworld” is more aptly described as a hideous kind of selfishness and self-absorption.
Her comments about courage remind me of a conversation I had in 1996 at the Texas Book Festival. Actually, it was a conversation I overheard. A man who had just been on a Texas history panel was fuming in a hallway and complaining to a couple of friends standing with him. From what I gathered, a woman (either on the panel or in the audience) had started calling the Alamo’s defenders racists and sexists, etc., and made a comment about the “sexist focus” of history. (And when I say I gathered that, I’m paraphrasing what the man said.)
I do no know why I asked him this, I guess it was because he was suddenly looking at me. I asked him “Why do you think she said that?”
He replied: “Because what those men did took courage, physical courage. And she doesn’t have it, she’s petty and afraid. So she has to diminish them so she doesn’t have to confront her own cowardice. ”
Then he asked me: “Do you know what kind of courage it takes to face bullets?”
I was taken aback a bit, but I replied: : “I know soldiers have to do what they have to do.”
He gave me a curt nod, turned back to his friends, and continued to fume.
My reply wasn’t the most articulate of observations, but that is what I said and I’m in a position to guarantee it’s true enough.
I have no idea who this man was, I have no idea who his antagonist was, and I only have a second-hand story in the hallway.
Yes, the man was angry. He may well have been angry with an academic sparring partner he couldn’t stomach at the personal level. He may have unfairly characterized her comments– and I think that is likely. Let’s take those possibilities, or probabilities, into account. But we’ve all heard those kind of comments, and they reflect an establishment position in much of liberal academia. I think the angry man in the hallway hit on a fundamental factor in a lot of the elitist Left’s condescending treatment of soldiers and disdain for the military. I’d be interested in neo-neocon’s assessment.
UPDATE 2: Neo-neocon responds. Her post is extremely thoughtful. This is a difficult subject to treat, since it has so many emotional tangents. Both the “right” and the “left” are deeply suspicious of “the other guy’s motives.”
God bless you.
Comment by AllenS — 5/28/2005 @ 4:18 pm
Thank you and God bless you, Austin Bay. This from a WWII veteran and freshman blogger.
Comment by William Simmons — 5/28/2005 @ 4:35 pm
1. An excellent speech. God bless. 2. The snark attack at the end was beneath you.
Comment by Joe — 5/28/2005 @ 5:49 pm
Take out the word “flipped” and you have the second Gettysburg Address.
Comment by White Whale — 5/28/2005 @ 8:09 pm
I didn’t think the comment about the Foleys and Jordans and Newsweek was out of place at all. I did my basic training in the fall of 1959. I was too late for Korea and too early for Vietnam. I spent summer camps at Camp Roberts, in the news today because a stash of wallets from WWII and Korea was found there when the barracks were torn down last year. It is too bad that universal military service is gone. I know the Army doesn’t want the draftees and I know all the arguments about an all volunteer force and agree with them. Still, it’s a shame that we don’t all share in this experience. It gave us a common history and everyone understood what the miltary did and how it was done. The snarky comments come from the left who have no experience in standing barracks guard or fire watch and who denigrate the troops as would-be burger flippers and worse. I’ve seen the comments on left wing blogs. In all our history, we have never seen as great a gap between the values of the protected and the protectors. It’s sad and might even be dangerous.
Comment by Michael Kennedy — 5/28/2005 @ 8:19 pm
Nice work, Austin. Thank you for thanking them so well.
Comment by mac — 5/28/2005 @ 8:48 pm
I’d rather have the Tejanos in Action than Newsweek, Jaseera, Foley and Jordan combined.
Comment by Richard Heddleson — 5/28/2005 @ 9:01 pm
Thank you, Austin Bay. Your speech was elegant and moving. You have become one of my favorite and most trusted sources for understanding what is happening in this war. Jamie Irons
Comment by Jamie Irons — 5/28/2005 @ 9:22 pm
I think your comment was dead on. The press ignores the military unless there is an allegation against it, or they can publish pictures of body bags, but never the lives or accomplishments of servicemembers. When I was stationed in San Angelo, I had the privilege of conducting several Honor Guards for the funerals of vets, and there was always a big turn out of vets from the community, it was always both humbling and inspiring to meet them.
Comment by SFC SKI — 5/28/2005 @ 9:36 pm
“I didn’t think the comment about the Foleys and Jordans and Newsweek was out of place at all.” I’ll second that! During this time of remembrance, it is also fitting to remember who helped to put these brave men an women in the ground. I think it was very appropriate!
Comment by Vugorilla — 5/28/2005 @ 9:55 pm
Good work Austin. And, I agree with your last comment.
Comment by Ledger Man — 5/28/2005 @ 11:49 pm
Memorial Day Perhaps it may be said that these fallen veterans sacrificed out of proportion to the benefits they enjoyed — they gave their all to a country that may not always have honored them in life in measure to their devotion. In some profounder sense, in hon…
Trackback by Dadmanly — 5/29/2005 @ 12:38 am
Today has always ben special to my family.We had 6 out of 7 boys in WWII.My uncles were also,in Korea and Vietnam.My husband was on a blockade runner during the Cuban Crisis. We understand the honor and the sacrifice. Thank you for your speech today.You did all of us honor. God Bless!
Comment by Wendy Ambrose — 5/29/2005 @ 1:09 am
Very moving. It reminded me of Lincoln’s remarks at Gettysburg as well. God bless America and the men and women who defend her.
Comment by Walter Kraslow — 5/29/2005 @ 6:58 am
Thank you for sharing that. This Vietnam Vet was a bit misty-eyed by the time I reached the end.
Comment by GunTrash — 5/29/2005 @ 7:23 am
Daily Dish Remembering Col. Austin Bay spoke to veterens gathered at the Travis County International CemeteryA group of Hispanic vets tends the graves of indigent American veterans buried in the cemetery. The place is one of those plots of ground with a
Trackback by The Cool Blue Blog — 5/29/2005 @ 9:19 am
Steyn On Memorial Day On his Website, Mark Steyn reprints his essay on Memorial Day that first ran in The Chicago Sun-Times last year. Here’s a big chunk of it, but read the whole thing, as they say:…
Trackback by Ed Driscoll.com — 5/29/2005 @ 1:16 pm
It’s a shame the Gold Star Mother’s of American didn’t get to hear that speech.
Comment by Bill Gross — 5/29/2005 @ 2:03 pm
Col. Austin Bay’s 2005 Speech to Tejanos in Action “This morning I spoke at a Memorial Day ceremony held at the Travis County International Cemetery. A group of Hispanic vets tends the graves of indigent American veterans buried in the cemetery. The place is one of those plots of ground with a decided…
Trackback by Defense Industry Daily — 5/29/2005 @ 8:06 pm
God bless Tajano veterans and all veterans of all colors, all creeds, all genders, all sexual orientations and all political beliefs. Larry Burrows’ famous Life magazine photo (foundd in the volume devoted to Vietnam photographeers titled Requiem, pp. 1176-177) of the first-aid station south of the DMZ shows how war and death and pain and love have no prejudice. That is why the last lines are out of place. Did the O’Reilly Factor or the WSJ send anyone? And many couragaeous and patriotic soldiers and veterans, of all colors and ethnicities, oppose this technically undeclared and costly war. Yet they grieve for and honor the fallen dead, just as all decent citizens do today.
Comment by Thomas G. Palaima — 5/30/2005 @ 9:51 am
Memorial Day SATURDAY, my friend Wayne and I joined Da Goddess, Little Dude, and hundreds of boy and girl scouts for a Memorial Day event at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. Our mission: to place an American flag on every grave site in…
Trackback by The Indepundit — 5/30/2005 @ 11:10 am
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: IN REMEMBRANCE Legacy.com has set up a moving tribute page to honor service members who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company set up the site free of charge and launched it in March. The Guest Book sections are must…
Trackback by Michelle Malkin — 5/30/2005 @ 11:24 am
Well said. I wish I had been home to hear it.
Comment by Stuart — 5/30/2005 @ 5:44 pm
Sir, great speech. I would have loved to have been there, to hear it and because I’m Texan and would have liked to have celebrated Memorial Day with Texans. I’m fascinated by your story of the overheard hallway conversation. Makes me wonder how many other people have thought about what troops go through before they make blanket statements. Also, it seems that too many people study history using today’s values instead of understanding the values of the time. Sure the defenders of the Alamo were sexist. The whole world was at that time! Should it diminish what those men did, though? Great post.
Comment by JACK ARMY — 5/31/2005 @ 9:26 am
Here’s my assessment/response, for anyone who might be interested.
Comment by neo-neocon — 5/31/2005 @ 3:51 pm
Saw Col Austin Bay on Fox this morning and was very impressed with what you are doing. Great speech too. My son is serving in Iraq with the Army and it is so unfortunate that the news media is SOOOOOOO negative about what GOOD is going on over there. I am sick of the LIBERAL news coverage and the negative approach to the Iraq war. I wish every Senator and Congressman would be required to go to Iraq and follow our Soldiers around for just one day and come back and then I might listen to what they have to say. The News Media has become lazy—they don’t go to where the news is anymore—they just stay in their air conditioned offices atop the highrise Corporate office buildings and speak down to the American people like they know more than we do. HA! Anna Smart
Comment by Anna Smart — 7/16/2005 @ 1:29 pm
This is in response to your talk on NPR this morning (9/6/05). In your survey of responses to disasters in other countries, you compared the situation on the Gulf to the tsunami on Boxing Day last year. There is a fundamental difference between the two catastrophies in that in the Bay of Bengal there was no warning. With modern meteorology hurricanes can be predicted three or four days in advance. This was the case with Katrina and in this case no provision was made to use public transport to take the most vulnerable to safety. Your survey omitted the Cuban handling of its devastating hurricane last year. In this over one million people were moved to safety BEFORE it struck. ED: Alas, what some people hear. There was no “survey.” The NPR commentary said that the tragedy of the Congo (war) and the tsunami (natural disaster) was compounded by the lack of sustained relief.
Comment by Martin Bernal — 9/6/2005 @ 6:51 am
Memorial Day 2007 - The Blogosphere Remembers Cox & Forkum I’ll update this a post a few times today. Other blogging will be light or saved for Tuesday. Feel free to send links to your posts or interesting Memorial Day finds. In Training There is nothing in this world like a s…
Trackback by Blogs of War — 5/28/2007 @ 12:19 pm
When is the next tejanos in action? Who will be there, when, where?
Comment by jorge luis camarillo — 8/17/2007 @ 3:12 pm
[…] - 2005 Memorial Day addresses: President Bush (Trey Jackson has video), Rumsfeld and Gen. Myers, Austin Bay […]
Pingback by Michelle Malkin » MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: IN REMEMBRANCE — 10/24/2007 @ 8:54 pm
I know there was one guy I never had a chance to beat.
Comment by Jordans — 11/15/2007 @ 10:11 am
2008, May 23
Worth reading again! God bless Our Veterans who who precede us, those who served in the past, and those presently serving. May we always honor and remember these men and women.
Comment by DonnaUSMCBoomerBrat — 5/23/2008 @ 5:00 pm
[…] “… Memorial Day is about taking a moment to reflect and to remember, to reflect and to respect the special gift of those who did their duty.” And — I’ll add in 2008 — it is a day to thank those who do their duty now. NOTE: The entire speech may be found at the May 28, 2005, entry of austinbay.net/blog. […]
Pingback by Amber » Blog Archive » Memorial Day, 2008 — 5/25/2008 @ 12:44 pm
[…] What to do? This week’s column pinches a couple of paragraphs from a Memorial Day speech I gave on May 28, 2005. (I posted the entire speech on the blog.) […]
Pingback by Austin Bay Blog » UPDATED: Memorial Day 2008 — and responding to the mistreatment of American soldiers — 5/29/2008 @ 3:56 pm