Cover Photo by Mark R. Day

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Address "Comments for Grave Dedication Ceremony Port Deposit, MD November 26, 2011"





26 November 2011

Brothers in Arms and Friends of the "Boys in Blue"

Today you have gathered to honor the memory of the noble dead who have found final rest in this quiet place.  This ceremony  is fitting, right, and in fact our bounden duty as the recipients of their gift,  of a free and united nation,  which they so nobly fought to provide us.  However, this ceremony and its simple acts of remembrance on your part will go overlooked by Americans at large; as they pursue the present and fail to see cause for reflection on the past.   They have forgotten the men you gather here to venerate.  The responsibility has been given to you few, here gathered,  to follow the less worn path and heed the words of General John Logan who said "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance" and that we should  "Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds.  Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners.  Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."   Myself, I now endeavor daily to keep Logan's admonition "to Remember"  in my heart and believe that you all do as well.   Those of you standing here today have been assigned the duty to ensure that the men who struggled in that terrible and cruel fight called the American Civil War are never forgotten.  Every grave you  mark, every monument you preserve, and every child you tell their story to presents an opportunity to keep alive the names of the 'Boys in Blue."  Failure to take these opportunities will mean that, each of the men who lay here have died not only in body but also in spirit.  Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address that we must resolve "that these dead shall not have died in vain"  Let us now be so resolved.
Mark R. Day, Captain
Commander 2nd Military District SVR

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Poem "The Trial"

Many things can happen in a lifetime of a man or woman.
Some experiences bring intense joy, while others offer only sadness.
The later condition often causes introspective reflection about our lives
and the actions we have taken

Reflection can often incite harsh judgments and self loathing
especially among those who find their lives ill spent

This trial of self and the mental torments produced by regret
can be the fiercest punishment leveled on a man or woman.
Casting a Shadow of hopelessness that affixes to the very soul.

A deep and profound wound, which is mortal for many.
For life seems without reason or justification.

Yet from the ashes of our self-destruction, self-denial, and self immolation
Like a phoenix a new individual can rise
Scourged and purified by the experience in the pit of our failure
Reborn for greater service and filled with self-worth.

Written by Mark R. Day, 11/3-2011, copyright by Mark R. Day all rights reserved 3/11/2011