Since the weeping has subsided, the profound numbness has taken its place. My decorated war veteran husband and I just returned from seeing “Saving Private Ryan.” Words are insufficient for the feelings and thoughts I am now experiencing. The only words spoken since the movie ended one hour ago were from my husband saying, “Welcome to my world.”
I began weeping within the first five minutes after the movie began, and wept throughout. I wept for the dead, I wept for the ones who lived through it, I wept for the families of the dead and I wept for the part of my husband I will never know and his family will never see again.
Every American should see “Saving Private Ryan.” Perhaps every human being should see the movie. War is war no matter what nationality, color, religion or gender. Excruciating pain, emptiness, mind-numbing guilt and fear are the emotional results of war. War affects us all, even if we are not veterans.
Our society has glorified war for years and years. The war movies of the past failed to show the decades of emotional and spiritual pain from the veterans’ experiences. Yet when it comes to ways to honor veterans, society has made a pitiful showing.
I am reminded of the first time I walked in a Veteran’s Day parade with my husband. In a city the size of Nashville that frequently fills concert halls and stadiums to be entertained, only a handful of people turn out to pay homage to the thousands of people who died for causes they believed in. Whether we are hawks or doves, the soldiers did what they believed was their duty, and we owe a great deal of gratitude and compassion to those men and women who fought for our country.
Are we really cognizant of the cost that allows us the freedom to whine about the traffic, the weather, our wrinkles or the price of gasoline? After seeing the movie, I am once again reminded of where my priorities should be.
See the movie, attend a Veteran’s Day parade, visit a veterans cemetery. And when you pass every American flag, pause a moment and say a silent prayer for world peace. Most of all, say thank you to a vet–for giving up a piece of his or her soul for each of us.
