A mother’s grief

A poignant scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan happens when General George C. Marshall reads a letter that President Abraham Lincoln wrote to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow believed to have lost five sons during the Civil War. 

The movie is make-believe, but Lincoln’s letter is most definitely real. In the letter, Lincoln writes:

“I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”

Different era, similar thoughts

President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote a similar letter to Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Rogers in January 1943, offering comfort for her three sons killed in the Battle Of the Guadalcanal.

In his letter Roosevelt wrote: “I have just been advised of your loss of three sons who gave their lives in the performance of their duty in action against the enemy. There is little that I can say to lessen the burden of your grief. However, I want you to know that your great sorrow is shared not only by myself, but by the entire Naval Service. Your sons, Jack Ellis, Jr., Edward Keith, and Charles Ethbert, gave their lives in the service of our country which owes to you and them a debt of undying gratitude. As Commander in Chief, I express to you a nation”s sympathy. I pray that God will comfort you and give you strength to bear this great sorrow.” 

Honor and mourning

The Rogers letter and another to the Sullivan family whose five sons were killed when their ship went down, also during the Guadalcanal campaign, are believed to be the impetus that led to the adoption of a rule that attempts to separate family members in combat areas.

The U.S. celebrates Memorial Day today, honoring military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.

We have any number of problems in the U.S. right now. However, I’ll still spend some time today honoring and mourning these great sacrifices and so many others. Here’s to those who sacrificed so much.

Saving Private Ryan

All images by Pexels.