Lest We Forget: An Unnamed Soldier and the Father Who Grieves for Him

By Nicholas Stix One of my wife’s nursing home patients just lost his son, who was serving in Iraq. The young man died in an accident. The father has always been one of her nicest patients; of sound mind, if not body. The man loved all of his children, but the son was clearly his favorite. “He was his heart,” she observed. You’re supposed to love all of your children equally, but rules like that fly in the face of the human heart. Some parents love one child more, simply … because they do, even though they do love the others. Others do so out of pure evil, loving one child while despising one or more among their other children. Yet other parents’ motives are hopelessly mixed. I believe that the majority of parents of two or more children have a favorite, though most would never admit it (I hope that they would never admit it). My wife heard today that the man was muttering, “It’s alright.” But it’s not alright. He’s on “one-on-one” care, a polite euphemism for suicide watch. My wife was glad she wasn’t on duty on the father’s floor; she’s sure she would have broken down and cried. She wouldn’t have been alone. …. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863 Mr. Bush, don’t let Mr. Lincoln’s words degenerate into mere talking points.