.jpg)
May 4, 2023 Editor, The News-Gazette: I was very pleased to read in the April 26 issue that Lexington City Council unanimously voted to approve the Gold Star Memorial at Jordans Point.
I believe that every town in America should have a memorial to honor their war dead and it should be prominently displayed. I assumed this was something that our whole community could get behind despite the rabid partisanship that is present in every facet of American life today.
Which is why I was shocked and disgusted when I read three different letters to the editor in the May 3 issue that were in opposition to the memorial. These letters offer up a variety of excuses as to why the memorial shouldn’t be at Jordans Point. It seems as though some people think this memorial should be hidden away in a remote area so that we don’t have to be reminded of war.
We should be reminded of war and the sacrifices made on our behalf every single day. We should thank God that there are men and women among us who are willing to put on a uniform and lay down their lives for this nation so that we can enjoy the quality of life we have. Every freedom and privilege we enjoy was paid for with someone else’s blood and we have a duty to honor their sacrifice.
On the wall in my home hangs a large print of one of Robert Capa’s photos taken on June 6, 1944, at Omaha Beach. It hangs there as a silent and powerful reminder to me that I owe everything to the over one million KIA and MIA American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines throughout history that have given their lives so that I can live in peace. It is a debt that I can never repay. The least we can do is remember.
“A nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” - Abraham Lincoln BRYCE TEAGUE Rockbridge County
