Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Cedars and Sandhills

Home
Family, Parenting and Religion
Memorial Day, SEALS, and Motivations

Memorial Day, SEALS, and Motivations

Last updated on: May 23, 2013 at 9:47 am by Zeke Pipher

Memorial Day, SEALS, and Motivations 2013-05-23T09:47:57-06:00 Zeke Pipher

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Winston Churchill made that comment on August 20, 1940 about the Royal Air Force, yet it perfectly applies to all the men and women who fought and died to protect America.

Our country first celebrated Memorial Day on May 30, 1868. It was initially designed to honor Union soldiers who died in the Civil War – southern states started observing the day after WWI, when the holiday was expanded to honor all soldiers from all US wars. It was declared a city holiday in Waterloo, New York in 1966, and was officially recognized as a national holiday in 1971. The purpose of the Memorial Day is to remember all the men and women who gave their lives to protect our country.

Occasionally, some will find it fashionable to criticize those who serve our country – “What are their motives? Are they in it for the money…machismo…or, is it a lust for blood?” I thought I’d pass along a few paragraphs from a Wall Street Journal article about the SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden. (The entire article is worth reading!) Eric Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, writes about what motivates many SEALS to fight through and survive Hell Week…and it’s not bravado. Greitens writes:

The rigors that SEALs go through begin on the day they walk into Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in Coronado, Calif., universally recognized as the hardest military training in the world. BUD/S lasts a grueling six months. The classes include large contingents of high-school and college track and football stars, national-champion swimmers, and top-ranked wrestlers and boxers, but only 10-20 percent of the men who begin BUD/S usually manage to finish ….

What kind of man makes it through Hell Week? That’s hard to say. But I do know—generally—who won’t make it. There are a dozen types that fail: the weight-lifting meatheads who think that the size of their biceps is an indication of their strength … the preening leaders who don’t want to get dirty, and the look-at-me former athletes who have always been told they are stars …. In short, those who fail are the ones who focus on show.

Some men who seemed impossibly weak at the beginning of SEAL training—men who puked on runs and had trouble with pull-ups—made it. Some men who were skinny and short and whose teeth chattered just looking at the ocean also made it. Some men who were visibly afraid, sometimes to the point of shaking, made it too.

Almost all the men who survived possessed one common quality. Even in great pain, faced with the test of their lives, they had the ability to step outside of their own pain, put aside their own fear and ask: How can I help the guy next to me? They had more than the “fist” of courage and physical strength. They also had a heart large enough to think about others, to dedicate themselves to a higher purpose.

Eric Greitens, “The SEAL Sensibility,” The Wall Street Journal (5-7-11)

To all the families of men and women who died because of their dedication to a higher purpose, there are not words to express the depth of our gratitude. And not just on this Memorial Day weekend, but every day we enjoy our freedoms as Americans.

Q4U: What are you doing this Memorial Day weekend? Does your family have any Memorial Day traditions?

purpose of Memorial Day

remembering Memorial Day

The Wall Street Journal

Previous Post

May 21, 2013

Helping Children Through National Tragedies

Next Post

May 28, 2013 Fathers, Don't Blow the In-the-Home QTR

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What root attitude does Paul say is the "root of all kinds of evil"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Love of wisdom Love of money Love of music Love of animals