Once in a while I get an email from an old friend, a patriotic and conservative woman, that shows some aspect of the military and asks people to forward it to support our troops.   We have, after a rancorous period, agreed to avoid discussion of politics, but once in a while she sends me one that provokes a response, which I try to make as measured and non-argumentative as possible.

The other day it was an email with three photos.  A small group of Marines in full dress uniform,  in the open cargo hold of a commercial airliner, draping an immaculate American flag over a coffin.  Above them were passengers looking out the windows.  The narration stated that they watched this in silent respect and waited for the coffin to be removed, showing respect for the troops in a long moment that none of them will ever forget.   It’s unclear from the photo how the passengers above could have possibly had a view of something that was happening inside a hatch in the round bottom of the plane while their small windows looked out on to the tarmac.

The second photo was of a woman on a mattress in front of the flag draped coffin of another Marine, her dead husband.  Her face was illuminated by a laptop that was playing her husband’s favorite music the night before his funeral.  The Marine honor guard standing at attention by the coffin stayed through the night, at the woman’s request, watching her sleep as the Marines honored their fallen comrade.

The third photo showed a military man pinning something to the tiny chest of a young boy who had recently lost his father in war.  Under that was a long piece about the majority of Americans silently supporting our troops and wearing blue every Friday to quietly and firmly show that support.  God was also brought in, and our faith in God and our love and respect for the young men who give their lives in defense of our liberty.

My first thought was to let it pass, just an email.  Then I wrote and sent this:

Sure, I’ll wear blue every Friday, but I’ve got to say, there’s something here that mystifies me.  These brave young men who are sent to fight and die in wars politicians cannot explain— how do we support them by honoring them in death exactly?