Here lye officers and men, blacks and whites, rich men and poor, together among these men there is no discrimination, no prejudice, no hatred, theirs is the highest and purest democracy. --- Too much pain and heartache have fertilized the earth on which we stand. We here solemnly swear, "this shall not be in vain." --- We will remember how you looked when we placed you reverently, lovingly, in the ground. Thus do we memorialize those who in cease living with us,... live in us. ---Out of this, and from the suffering and sorrow of those who mourn this will come we promise,...a new freedom for the children of men everywhere. Amen.
The words above come from the benediction conducted by a rabbi at the cemetery built to bury the Marines who died during combat operations on the island of Iwo Jima in February and March of 1945. I guess we're still working on making their sacrifice something that is not in vain. God please help us.
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