Honor

Today is Medal of Honor Day.

The Medal of Honor is our nation's highest military award. Arlington National Cemetery is home to over 300 of these award winners.

SPC McGinnis is found in the infamous section 60 of Arlington. A fellow Lutheran and brother in Christ, he gave his life for the lives of his brothers in arms.

I make it my habit if I am anywhere near his grave in section 60 for ceremonies or otherwise, to detour to his grave and render a salute.

Likewise, if I am near to SFC Smith's grave, I will stop and render a salute. These two gravesites and the gravesites of those active duty casualties in the war on terror are the most special of ground to me personally at Arlington. I have buried veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam and some serving in more than one of these wars. I guess when my time comes, my war will have been the War on Terror. I pray that once it is finally won, it will be my last one.

there is...
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

NIV Ecclesiastes 3:8

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Private First Class Ross McGinnis

a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Knox Pennsylvania

Our Bible tells us that God gave up his only son to die for us so that we may live. But Romayne and I are not gods. We can't see the future, and we didn't give our son to die, knowing that he will live again. We gave him to fight and win and come home to us and marry and grow old and have children and grandchildren. But die he did, and his mother, dad and sisters must face that fact and go on without him, believing that someday we will meet again. Heaven is beyond our imagination and so we must wait to see what it's like. -- his parents
(from Arlington Cemetery.net)