17 Dec 2014 The Wall That Heals

by Brigadier General Keith Klemmer
Arkansas National Guard

I bring greetings from the more than 10,000 soldiers, airmen and civilian employees of the Arkansas National Guard as well as the thousands of military veterans across our great state and serving around the world. Many, like me, have been deeply engaged in fighting our nation’s wars over the past 13 years and celebrate with you during this very special time. Others with us today have served valiantly in times of peace and times of war including the Vietnam War, in which we particularly remember today.  

When our nation’s oldest military regiments met for their first drill on the village green in Salem, Mass., in 1636, none would have imagined the sacrifices our armed forces would have endured for the past 378 years. Just the past 100 years gives dozens of examples where we have called upon our military to protect our way of life…World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, just to name a few.  

The men and women who served in those wars were and are an inspiration to all of us. In return for the selfless service, they ask for only the gratitude of a grateful nation.

Yet they inspire the commitment of the values and ideas on which this country was founded. They represent the very best ideas of our country. And our nation honors them.

Today, we are here to recognize their sacrifice as remembered on The Wall That Heals.

Ironically, my first visit to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., was a few months before the events of 9/11. I was deeply moved by the names etched on the wall and by hundreds of family members, friends and veterans who visited that day. A few months after that visit, those names on the wall took on a whole new meaning for me, as well as our nation, as we watched the events unfold in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

As we gather, we must ask the question, “WHY MUST WE REMEMBER?” The answer lies within the mission and vision of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the organization responsible for bringing us The Wall That Heals. We learn that we must HONOR the fallen, we must PRESERVE their memory, and we must EDUCATE future generations who will be called to defend our freedoms.  

First, we must HONOR those who have served. The profession of arms is a calling. Whether drafted or volunteered, our veterans have trained and fought to preserve the very ideals on which our nation was founded. The individuals whose names are inscribed on this wall today and those that served with them, as well as their families, understood then and still understand today the sacrifices that are made to preserve our freedom. They deserve a place of highest honor that our nation can give them. They are our protectors, our most cherished citizens.

We must PRESERVE the memory of the fallen. A poem written by Laurence Binyon in 1914 states, “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor do the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.” Today, individuals and organizations across the United States have devoted countless hours and days to preserve the memory of our fallen as represented today by this wall and thousands of memorials across every community in our nation. The voices of the fallen call upon us to remember their sacrifice today and to preserve their memory by living, to our fullest measure, the freedoms that they have selflessly provided to us.  

Through memorials like THE WALL THAT HEALS, we must EDUCATE new generations of our citizens to remember the sacrifices of our service members like those who served Vietnam.  They must learn about service to our nation, courage and sacrifice. For they, too, will be called upon by our nation in the future to defend our way of life here and abroad. They must understand the great sacrifice that our veterans have given to our nation throughout its history. Through events like this today, school programs, Veterans Day ceremonies and Memorial Day ceremonies, we educate our citizens about the rich history of service and sacrifice that has made our nation great.    

I close my remarks with an inscription I once saw on a memorial…it was for a battle fought in a war long since past. In these words we hear the voices of those whose hearts were deeply touched by the lives of those lost on the battlefield…..“You, who have never known the scour and pierce of battle, may only remember moments by names and places by monuments, but I who was born by the battlefields and cannot escape a sorrow that dwells, a valor that lingers, and a hope that spoke on lips now still.

Honor the valor of those remembered here, emulate the devotion with which they gave themselves to the service of their country, and let it never be said that their children have forgotten their noble example.” And the inscription goes on to remind us that we must remember our Missing in Action,  whose names are not inscribed on this monument today, “Somewhere here, our unknown dead will lie forever with arms unstacked, with colors that cannot be furled.”

We live in the greatest nation on earth. As you depart, remember those who have served and who continue to serve to preserve our freedoms.  

I appreciate the opportunity to provide these remarks today.  May God richly bless each of you and our great nation.

Brigadier General Keith Klemmer, deputy adjutant general for the Arkansas National Guard, was the guest speaker at The Wall That Heals opening ceremony at the University of Central Arkansas during a Veterans Day celebration. This was a portion of his speech.