Soldiers come in all shapes and sizes. They are men and women. They are fathers, brothers, sons, mothers, sisters and daughters. They make sacrifices in the name of God and Country, putting their personal beliefs aside to follow orders. Supporting troops has never been an issue for me and most Americans. Ever since I was fifteen, I've had friends enlist in the armed forces for various reasons. I always wish them well as they march off to a life of duty and regiment. Memorial Day is celebrated for these people.

Our country came into being through war. The Revolutionary War had the bold and meager stand at Concord. Paul Revere galloping through the streets. "The Red Coats Are Coming." The Boston Tea Party. George Washington crossing the Potomac. Benedict Arnold. The Declaration of Independence.

The War of 1812 is just a footnote. We lost New Orleans for awhile, and Washington burned in the night.

Not until the Civil War did we take a good look at ourselves. Half the country secedes. Many human lives are treated as slaves. Brother against brother. Every casualty counts against the country. The bloody battle of Gettysburg. Blues and grays. North and south. Iron-clad ships. Drunk General Grant. Wise General Lee. Stonewall Jackson. The Emancipation Proclamation. A nation divided. A president assassinated.

The Spanish-American War falls by the wayside, but Remember the Maine. Skirmishes in the Philippines and else war until Europe was ready to blow in the nineteen teens. Wilson stays out as long as he can, but eventually the doughboys go overseas. If you supply arms, your ships are targets. Submarines. Those Jerry bastards. The Red Baron. Trench warfare. Casualties like the world had never known. The World War was the War To End All Wars. Until of course, the next one.

Who says sequels always fall short? World War II remains to this day the last time the lines were clearly divided, and nations aligned themselves as Axis and Allies. Hitler. Storm troopers. The Blitzkrieg. Pearl Harbor. Kamikazes. Normandy. D-Day. Dresden. The Battle of the Bulge. Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin. Eisenhower. A man called Einstein. A man called Oppenhiemer. The Atom Bomb. Truman. Hiroshima. Nagasaki. V-Day.

Korea. Where's Korea? General MacArthur. The Communist Domino Effect. Invade China. Bad Idea. Not a war, a police action. We begin to find euphemisms for our bloodshed.

Vietnam. Same shit, different place. French leave. Americans enter. The Draft. Protests. Napalm. Gooks. Agent Orange. Ho Chi Mihn. JFK, LBJ, Nixon. The Tet Offensive. Thousands of casualties in a fifteen-year police action. Soldier junkies. What the hell are we fighting for?

Iraq #1. Desert Shield. Desert Storm. Kuwait? This aggression will not stand, man. 30-day conflict. General Schwartzkoff. Colin Powell. No Baghdad battle. No resolution.

9-11. Osama bin-Laden. The Taliban. Al-Qaeda. Airport security. Orange Alert. Afghanistan. A war torn land tears more. A football hero killed by friendly fire. We don't mean to, but we kill our own.

Iraq #2. Weapons of Mass Destruction. Yellow cake from Africa. Imminent threat. Propaganda. Congress takes the bait. Attack. Hero Jessica Lynch. Not so much. Secure the oil fields. Mission Accomplished. Gas prices skyrocket. Nation building. Shiite clerics. The disheveled evil Saddam captured. Fallujah. Prison abuse. Quagmire. 800 soldiers dead. Stay tuned.

My apologies for any misspellings or inaccuracies. Hats off to all the men and women who fought and died in these and other conflicts. Sometimes, the reasons are just. Sometimes, not so much. Happy Memorial Day to you all. This is what I remember.

Chris Jungle advocates peace on earth and goodwill toward men.