05/30/2026
I apologize that this is nearly a week late; life got SUPER busy for me this past week, so I didn't have time for this post until now.
Every single American who has ever died in combat while wearing the uniform (from the American Revolution to the War in Afghanistan), in my humble opinion, has earned a place in heaven.
I always like to say this: Take a war like Vietnam or Afghanistan or Korea or even World War I. None of them were fought on American soil, yet countless American soldiers perished in them, or got life-altering injuries in them (physical and mental).
The politics behind America's entry into each of those wars was vastly different each time. Sometimes, the government had the full support and backing of the American public for entering that other; other times, the public tore itself apart fighting over whether or not we should have been there at all (like the Vietnam War).
Yet each time, many Americans answered the call to serve in the military (some enthusiastically, sometimes very reluctantly; many were drafted and thus not given a choice other than "go or be punished"). Of those that made it back home, some were welcomed as heroes, and some were literally spat upon by their own fellow citizens.
Yet they fought like hell for their country, in a foreign land.
I like to think that, among other things, they still serve as a deterrent to enemies of America who wish to attack us. If we're willing to come over to your land and fight like dogs, imagine what we'll do if you try to come over to our turf and detonate an IED.
Many of these American soldiers were able to return home.
Many were not.
Memorial Day honors and remembers those who were never able to return home.
