by Henry Piarrot

Created on: May 22, 2009   Last Updated: May 29, 2009

Bloody Footprints

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are, life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." "We therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled...solemnly publish and declare, that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be free and Independent states" - Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence 1776

The bloody footprints in the snow left by bootless under dressed soldiers wrapped in thin blankets huddled around the thick smoky fires of green wood offer the first moving images of the price of American freedom. Those young men were in need of almost everything, as they had few provisions to perform the mighty task that was before them. For some, their feet and legs froze until it was necessary to amputate them. The suffering and sacrifices of the American patriots at Valley Forge provide an iconic perspective that freedom and liberty has never been free.

August of 1814 was one of the hottest in the memories of the residents of the young American capitol. The dense humidity and sweltering heat transformed the stagnate marshes surrounding the new city into massive hatcheries for diseased mosquitoes. To compound the problem, Washington DC found itself the target of an invading British army 4,000 strong. Then, with President James Madison among them, the defenders were routed a few miles from town. A rider was frantically dispatched to the White House to warn First Lady Dolly Madison of the advancing invaders. She and her staff fled across the Potomac River, carrying with them the portrait of George Washington. Within hours, the White House and most of the government buildings were reduced to ashes. However, a few months later, Andrew Jackson and Jean Lafitte avenged that English indesgression in the swamps of New Orleans and American independence was no longer in doubt.

Just before the Civil War began in 1861, there were nearly 32 million Americans. Just over half the population was under 19 years of age. About 10 million were between 20 and 40, while almost 5 million were older than forty and most of them were still under 50. Remarkably, 700,000 soldiers on both sides spent their last breath before John Wilkes Booth caused Abraham Lincoln to spend his. There was not a family, North or South that did not pay for the outcome with the blood of a loved one.

Tens of millions later died in the open fields of Europe during WWI, sometimes while simply fighting over a few yards of a battlefield. However, like some felt the War of 1812 was part 2 of the American Revolution, WWII can be viewed as the resolution of the unfinished business of the first. From the Nazis invasion of Poland in 1939 to the surrender of Japanese Empire in 1945 after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , WWII consumed every drop of blood needed to stop the fascists from killing freedom everywhere.

The Korean War in the early 1950's, Viet Nam in the 1960's and 70's, The Persian Gulf War of the 1990's and the current War on Terror demonstrate that remaining free is nearly as costly as winning or defending the freedom those who came before provided us.

On this Memorial Day, remember this is a time to celebrate family. But, please do not forget Memorial Day is first and foremost a time to remember those who traded their lives for the peace and freedom we will enjoy today. For every single thing we recognize as American, would not exist for the miles upon miles of bloody footprints laid down by the selfless patriots who carried us to this place in the sun. Let us pray that we will be worthy of their investment.

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