Mourning the Fallen 648th // August 14, 2005

Invocation: Father, you are the God of all we are and ever hope to be. You are here with us in these hot, dusty days and through the long, lonely nights. We thank you for allowing us the privilege of serving alongside of such men as SSG Warren, SGT Ganey, and SPC Gibbs. We thank you for the memories we have of these warriors and we ask that you give us the courage to remember and honor how they lived. We ask that you bring comfort to mothers, fathers, wives and children left here to mourn. We ask that you bring comfort to us as we are left to serve. Give us the grace to see your plan. In Your matchless, holy name, Amen.

Remarks: In the ashes of the Civil War, Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote what would become the epitome of how soldiers feel in the wake of armed conflict. He said, "We have shared the incommunicable experience of war, we have felt, we still feel the passion of life to its top, in our youths, our hearts were touched with fire." It was the fire that burned into our hearts that night. It was the fire that burned away our innocence and left us a marked people. No one in this battalion will go home the same soldier that came to this place. That is what fire does, it burns away the chaff of life and leaves the essential elements of strength. We have passed through the fire and come out the other side stronger, our wills tempered and our faith strong.
And yet, though we mourn the loss of our comrades in arms, we look to the future with the resolve born of adversity, tempered in trial, through the fire.
But, its not easy. It still hurts. We still look at empty cots and empty chairs wondering when they will be filled with the smiling, laughing forms of our brothers. They are here, they are above us, they are around us - their memory pervades our minds and actions. They are the reason we go on. They are the reason that we carry on with the fight. We validate that memory with the honor of our actions.
In these moments, we question, where is God when it hurts? He is here with you. He was there on that TCP. All the time, He is holding you up, giving you the strength to move ahead, giving you the strength to stand. He has been there all along, suffering with you and dying for you. He has felt for all time the feelings that cry out for repose. David the king realized this when he penned Psalm 121 - I will lift up mine eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps Israel shall not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep!" God holds you in the palm of His hand and will not let you out. Our faith tells us that though this world may try us - the Lord will hold us up. "The Lord will preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul." Our Father, waits for us to come to him, then, he takes us up in His arms to preserve our immortal soul.
In the midst of this suffering, we look to this love to carry us through, in the midst of our lonely nights and filled days, God's love sustains our joy. Weeping does indeed last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
We rejoice with the Apostle Paul, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquers through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God."

Benediction: May the God of yesterday, today and tomorrow keep you in His love. May He who knows your future better than you know your past give you the courage to face it with honor. Blessings and Peace be to you all in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.