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The event was led by members of the Hartsburg
American Legion Post 1146 with assistance from Lincoln American
Legion Post 263.
The day began with the presentation of colors by the
Hartsburg American Legion and went directly into the guest speaker
for the day, Ret. Navy Commander Pastor Jim Craven.
The day had begun wet and a bit stormy, but by 1 p.m. starting time,
the skies had cleared and the cemetery offered a beautiful, serene
and solemn location for Craven as he spoke in front of the Veteran
Memorial stone in the heart of the cemetery.
Craven began by speaking briefly about the
opportunity of celebrating our soldiers fallen on Memorial Day. He
surmised that the holiday has become more about fun and less about
celebrating the freedom we have and the sacrifices that have been
made to secure that freedom.
He said that for anyone who has been in the military, it means a lot
to see people observe the true message of Memorial Day. He said that
it is something that many of our younger generations don’t fully
understand because they don’t know people who have been in the
service, so educating them on the messages of Memorial Day is very
important.
Craven moved on to speak about World War II, his personal visit to
the American Cathedral in Paris, France, a few years ago and the
rise and fall of Hitler. He noted that in the beginning, there were
those, including Americans who thought that Adolph Hitler was a good
person who would be good for Germany. However, time told the story
and they began to realize that Hitler was not what he had first
portrayed himself as.
He said that when Hitler came into power and the Nazi regime was
taking over, the Christian Church in Germany took a middle of the
road stance for a period of time. Then eventually the church split
and the state church became the church of the Nazi’s. Those who did
not support the National Church and the Nazi’s fled the country,
many of them coming to America. Some would later return to Germany,
only to be executed. The National Church
embraced the idea of a superior race, and even went so far as to
call Hitler anointed by God.
Rudolf Damrath was a German Army Chaplain who chose to preach a
sermon at the American Cathedral the Sunday after Easter in 1942. He
titled his sermon “Jesus before the law force,” where he drew
comparisons between the suffering of Christ in the trial and
execution ordered by Pontius Pilot and the persecution and
irradiation of innocent people during World War II. He recalled the
words of Pilot who noted that the people wanted Christ to be
executed, that they were willing to “nail God to the Cross” and let
the criminal Barabbas go free.
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Damrath’s message was heard by senior officers in the German forces
who concluded that Damrath was correct. Some of those officers
plotted to assassinate Hilter, but they failed their mission and
were subsequently executed. Damrath was eventually arrested, but he
was not executed.
Craven asked the question, “Why is this important?” He said that it
was a lesson that these people died for what was important, the
children of God. He said all people regardless of the religious
choice, ethnicity, race or anything else, all are creations of God
and are his own.
He said that people died for people, and we would do well to
remember the sacrifices that brave people made in order to protect
all of us. He quoted the well known Biblical reference “Greater love
hath no person than this that they lay down their life for their
friends.”
He moved on to speak about the quote of Christ, “that you love one
another as I have loved you.” He said that it was worth noting that
there were no other stipulations put on the command, no singling out
of one race or one lifestyle, it was simple and to the point, saying
love everyone. Craven went on, “So what if they are gay, what if
they have more money than you, what if they are just different? Love
your neighbor as yourself.” He said that in the context of the
verses, ‘neighbor’ does not distinguish any of these things and
neither should we as people.
Craven concluded talking about the sacrifice of our soldiers for
those ‘neighbors,’ for all mankind, just as Christ laid down his
life for all mankind. He remembered this again in his closing prayer
asking that God spare us from violence and make our neighbors
compassionate toward us and us toward them. He concluded with words
of thanksgiving for the Christ who laid down his life for his
friends – us.
Immediately following the prayer, the American Legion
Post 263 color guard delivered the three-shot volley and John Sutton
played Taps.
With the day concluded, guests lingered, visiting with one another,
and also taking time to walk the cemetery and honor some of our
fallen with personal visits.
[Nila Smith] |
