General Grim, General Shaw, Brothers and Sisters of the Allied Orders, Guest.
Today we stand upon this immortal
field of battle, which distinguishes itself from all others in our country’s
history by its influence on the outcome of our Civil war and through a speech
containing just 272 words. While we do
take time this day to remember and honor
the men who sacrifice all to achieve victory in the hard-fought battle, which
occurred in these fields surrounding us, thereby redefining the direction of
the war and setting a course to the Union’s ultimate victory at Appomattox and
Bennet Place in April of 1865. We are
also bound by the blood of those hero’s and in gratitude for the life of a
President, who sought to bring about the fulfilment of the ideals and beliefs
of the founding fathers. to assemble in Gettysburg for Remembrance Day to take
notice of an event that happened four months after the great battle. For on November 19th, 1863
President Lincoln, in only a two-minute speech, redefined the meaning of Thomas
Jefferson’s statement that all Men are created equal imbued with rights to
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Generations of Americans have been
born and passed since the either Lincoln or our Heroes in blue walked this
ground. In that time we have faced many trials and
tribulations, which tested our strength and dedication to preserving the values
of freedom and equality which were won on the field at Gettysburg Whenever we have been confronted with these
difficult times, we have found our strength in the beliefs found in the
Declaration of Independence and in that short speech given by Lincoln.
In November of 1863 Lincoln looked
back in history to the words of Jefferson and saw a valuable lesson. Today we must do the same in order to find
the proper direction for our future.
Lincoln set his course to end slavery and make Jefferson’s words ring
true. He believed that to do anything
less diminished the sacrifice, which had been made and that failing to achieve
that lofty goal would mean the end of the Union. We owe Lincoln this moment of respect and
reflection, on Remembrance Day, for having the vision to see, that if we stress
the values of freedom and equality, recognize the worth of all mankind, and
fulfill the promise made at the start of our great Republic this nation would
indeed be one in which, all men were created equal and the government of the
people, for the people, and by the
people shall never fail.
Thank you for these few minutes of
your time and this rainy day and may the grace of God continue to bless this
great Union and its people
Written and presented by
Mark R. Day CinC SUVCW at Remembrance Day 2017, copywrite 2/28/2020 by Mark R.
Day, all rights reserved
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