Sacrifice, What Does That Mean?

We just observed Memorial Day in the United States. A day meant to honor those who gave sacrifice of their lives in defense of their country. They sacrificed all in their service to their fellow countrymen.

In reviewing my family, I have yet to fined an ancestor who or sibling who gave his life for the United States of America. Many have served, but none died in the service.

I do have two third great-grandfathers who died while serving the Confederacy. One, Charles Wesley Blair Weatherbee, died in a POW camp in Illinois, and the other , Marion Powell Fincher, died of disease in his unit’s camp in Arkansas.

Did they sacrifice? Did their families? Was it meaningless?

Who Is Worthy Of Recognition?

Don’t get me wrong, I honor those who have given their all. When I ask about what our ancestors have done, we need to recall that circumstances for each day and age vary from our’s today.

It is all too easy to judge another when we only look from our own perspective. My ancestors who died fighting for a losing cause were no less valorous or honorable than those who died in the winning cause.

Soldiers often have little choice in their country’s cause. My grandfather, Siegfried Biensfeld fought in the Wehrmacht of the German Nation during World War II. He nearly nearly gave up his life in the cause of defeating the Bolsheviks. He believed in that cause, as did many of the people who greeted the invading German armies as liberators.

History generally is written by the victors, and the narrative is slanted to revile the enemy. My grandfather soon learned that all was not as the propaganda he received as he saw Jews persecuted which did not sit well with him.

He literally defended his home and watched Russian artillery destroy it. He sacrificed all but his life, and he almost lost that on numerous occasions.

Honor Our Dead

My point is that we should not shame our ancestral dead. Some made poor choices, and others made great decisions, but they are all ours. To diminish any of them is to diminish ourselves.

Learn from the lessons they provide us, whether from mistakes or great examples. Then, make changes in your life based on those lessons.

If you have difficulty finding how to apply those lessons, seek help from someone who is practiced in doing so. Just as you seek help from educators or health professionals, sometimes you may need the help of a professional like me who knows how to find and implement those lessons.

Learn who you are by knowing who your ancestors were. You will find great power in knowing them.