"These are the times that try men's souls."

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Happy Memorial Day!

It's been popular to say that COVID-19 is our equivalent of a World War, but the only sacrifice asked of us has been to stay home and watch television.

In a sign of our affluent times, many of us have gained  5 to 15 pounds while "suffering" in quarantine.  The travel shutdown meant banishment from Cruise Ship Diets that might have counterbalanced the scales.

Please don't infer from this less than serious opening that we should take our current crisis or pandemics in general as mere frivolities.

It is tragic that many have been pushed to early graves by disease.  Further, this unprecedented worldwide shutdown has resulted in far too many having their financial futures slashed along with their current livelihoods.

Today, however, we commemorate military heroes in the primes of their lives who have died in service to our country so that we may enjoy the American way of life.

While Memorial Day conjures up visions of bombs, bullets and bayonets, many soldiers on the fronts have also died of diseases.

We're not talking exclusively about infections related to wounds sustained in battle, though obviously complications resulted in many perishing in field hospitals. 

Watching historical dramas like Outlander reminds us of how stopping gangrene often required cutting off an arm or a leg.  That practice continued through the Civil War, which raged "four score and seven years" after our Revolutionary War concluded. 

We continue to be saddened by brave soldiers returning home missing limbs, which in our age of advanced medicine still cannot be recovered.

Many veterans' lifespans have been cut short as the result of long term battlefield trauma, both physiological and psychological.  We should definitely remember them, too.

These brave soldiers risking life and limb to fight enemies to protect our freedoms have simultaneously never been immune from diseases that swept through civilian populations.

Going back to the Revolutionary War, when the fledgling eagle that would be the United States consisted of 13 less-than-unified colonies, medical science was primitive, while contagious diseases were no less deadly. 

Such was true at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where General George Washington's brave army made camp from December 19, 1777, through June 19, 1778, waiting for hostilities to re-start once winter snows melted.

Estimates are that as many as 2,500 of the 12,000 men encamped at Valley Forge died of disease, including deadly typhus, which was ravaging the country.

In the mean time, strict training under Prussian Baron Friedrich von Steuben continued, preparing the survivors to return to battle against the most powerful military in the world, a "game" that any odds-maker would call a hopeless long shot based on historical statistics.

Before Valley Forge, Washington's troops knew almost nothing but defeat, but the United States of America has known almost nothing but victory in the 242 years that followed Valley Forge.

While victory has become the norm for our brave troops fighting for our freedoms, many soldiers have died from injuries and diseases while serving our country.

This Memorial Day, let us remember all of those brave men and women who gave their lives in service to this country, as well as their families who deal with the aftermath.

Wes

P.S. The quote in the title of this post are not the sentiments of Representative Adam Schiff or General Michael Flynn.  It was written by England-born American patriot Thomas Paine in late 1776.