Reflections of Memorial Day

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

May 26, 2014

Jim Charapich

As we consider this solemn Memorial Day of honor to those who have served, my appreciation for their sacrifice grows more each year. Why sacrifice such precious life? Why suffer the risks? Why such great love? The preamble of the Constitution may provide a glimpse…

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The paragraph is a prism of meaning enduring the centuries and yet still relevant today. Our Founding Fathers were inspired in writing “For the Common Defense…… and Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves” as a part of the preamble. What would life be like without these freedoms? Because of the sacrificial gift of our fallen, this question is laid to rest with them, no longer spoken and yet ever present as they inspire future generations. 

I remember a tour of Cedar Mountain Battlefield just outside of Culpeper a few years ago. The tour guide brought to life the event movements culminating in injured and dying soldiers from both sides lying on the battlefield, waiting for over 24 hours to be attended to. The tour continued with a walk down Davis Street where many of the Union and Confederate soldiers were brought, lining Davis Street in downtown Culpeper for medical care after the battle. The tour then ended with a visit to the National Cemetery across the railroad tracks in downtown Culpeper where many of the soldiers were laid to rest. As I sit in the Depot at the Visitor Center, close to these places in history,  there is a quiet reverence for the events separated only by time.

Our colonial history, our significant place in Civil War history, and the legacy of the brave service men and women from Culpeper who serve and have served, honor Culpeper with their great measure. Take time to visit the places of such honorable significance often to remember their sacrifice.

We are united today as Americans in humble appreciation that we enjoy justice and domestic tranquility, as a result of such distinguished heroes on this Memorial Day.