ANALYSIS/OPINION:
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
— President Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865
There is very much to learn from the inspiring and beautiful speech President Lincoln gave so many years ago.
On this Memorial Day, I pray that you will join me in thinking about how you might fill his charge to care for the grieving spouses and children of those who gave their very lives for us.
To join the Gold Star Family sounds like an honor. And to be certain, it is. But the price is gut-wrenchingly steep: It comes only after your loved one dies while in service.
I can think of no greater way to honor the selfless men and women who have paid for our freedom with their lives than to offer our support to their families.
A little child who cries at night because his daddy will never come home should not also see his educational opportunities vanish. Wives who struggle daily with the tragic reality that their husbands are gone forever should receive more than just our gratitude; they need to feel our appreciation in tangible ways.
Before you rush out the door to take advantage of a huge “Memorial Day Sale” or after you’ve completed an online shopping binge, why not use some of those holiday savings to assist the families of the fallen?
You might ask the managers of the stores you go to or send emails to merchants asking them to donate a portion of their Memorial Day sales to Gold Star families.
One great organization that receives high ratings for services to families of the fallen and is deemed financially accountable by watchdog groups is Gold Star Wives of America Inc. You can find them at GoldStarWives.org.
The organization was founded in 1945 to serve the wives of those killed in World War II, and has since expanded its membership to include “any surviving spouse of any person of the United States military who died while a member of the armed forces of our country, or who died subsequent to such service as a result of an injury or disability incurred during such service.”
This congressionally-chartered, nonprofit service organization seeks to provide “assistance and friendship” to families of the fallen.
You might not ever meet a wife or child who suffers such loss, but you can still help through GoldStarWives.org. There, you can donate to the many programs that provide emotional support and practical help to grieving families.
One such critical program walks alongside children with broken hearts, teaching them how to face the world with courage and strength so that they may grow into strong, capable adults.
In a world where patriotism is trashed, where the culture teaches the young to feed on others and satisfy their immediate desires, Gold Star Wives helps vulnerable, hurting children to be something more.
Among their principles: “To safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom, and democracy for which members of our armed services fought and died.”
If you prefer a longer-term relationship with this super organization, why not ask the company you work for to become a sponsoring partner of the regional or local Gold Star chapter?
These service members didn’t die to give us a day off from work. They gave their lives to protect the freedoms our own families take for granted every day.
Let’s make an effort to truly memorialize those who gave their all by helping their families in every way we can.
• Rebecca Hagelin can be reached at rebecca@rebeccahagelin.com.
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