Let us not Forget

Memorial Day was particularly sobering for the Kent community. I never met Adam Hamilton, but his presence was palpable as we stood watching the memorial day parade ceremony from afar.  All I could think about was the pain of his parents and close friends and how their lives are forever altered.

I had heard about Adam Hamilton’s death from a Facebook post by my daughter Leah. "Today is a sad day for my Kent Roosevelt Family.  May you rest in Peace Adam.”  Another young person’s life, so full of promise, ended on a battlefield in service to our country.

In recent days, many have tried to express their feelings, their gratitude and their loss. Like them, I am searching desperately to find something positive from this tragedy because my tendency is to focus on the absurdity of our nation's preoccupation with war-making. Yes I know, this side of heaven, nation will make war against nation, and young people like Adam will die. The question we all must answer is, how do we change our lives, our communities and nation in response to their sacrifice?  How do we make Adams death not be in vain?

The death of a native son struck very close to home for our family because as of March 19 I have a son of my own who wears a uniform and carries weapons in the hills of Afghanistan.  On that day I gave the hand of my daughter Leah to Sgt. Joel Ratchford, U.S. Army, also a Roosevelt grad — just a few years older than Adam. Joel is on his third tour of duty and all of us are praying that he can be safe even as he is fighting for our safety and security. Like Adam, he takes his job seriously and sees his fight as our fight.

On the night we heard the news of Adams death, Joan and I did something we normally do not do. We sat watching the late news on television and heard the short clip about Adam's service to our country and the great sacrifice he and his family have made for all of us. Our prayers and our fears mixed together with those of Adams family. 

Subsequently we  read about a large gathering of friends, family and classmates on the high school football field, and have read many of the Facebook posts sharing gratitude that cannot adequately be put into words. A reccurring theme is that "we will never forget." While this is to be expected from youthful minds and hearts, our challenge is that most of us will forget.  We human beings are frail and frustrating and preoccupied with the business of life, and remembering a young man and his family is difficult. But try we must.

The best thing that I can think of doing is finding a way to serve right here in our town.  While many of us have relatives in service far from home, all of us can find a way to improve the lives of our neighbors and our neighborhood. Let us use our grief constructively to wage a non-violent conflict with greed, injustice and need. Let us spend our lives binding up the brokenness that is all around us. Let us all learn the most important lesson of Adam's life — to be willing to lay ours down, just as he has done for us.