What Was Paid for Freedom

 

Little Round Top Battlefield, Gettysburg

Copyright © 2024

Image and Text

By Ralph F. Couey

Freedom is not free.

This statement has become timeworn, perhaps even trite.  But its use, perhaps overuse, hasn’t diminished the fact that is it still absolutely fundamentally true.

In what was then colonial America, a group of restless idealists after decades of mistreatment by Britain decided that enough was enough.  After countless hours of fractious, even combative debate, together they published their intent to break from the Crown and form a new country.

This was an incredibly bold and courageous move against what was then the most powerful empire on Earth.  They were, in fact, committing treason, the punishment for which was death.  Also at risk were their families, their homes, everything they had earned and built.  The risk was enormous, but they did not hesitate.

The war resulting from that Declaration of Independence was long, brutal, and costly.  The army suffered bitter cold, hunger, and sickness.  Desertions were common.  The war was almost lost on several occasions, but for the dynamic presence of a Virginia planter named George Washington.  His inestimable qualities of leadership, strength, and tactical brilliance not only kept the army together, but allowed him to execute a series of bold, brilliant attacks that eventually drove the British out of America. 

Even after such an improbable victory, the internal struggles continued.  What kind of government would it be?  A republic with a strong central government and subordinate states, or a confederacy characterized by a weak central authority and autonomous states? Some of these questions were addressed in the Constitution, a document that took 13 more years of arguing before its initial form was finalized in 1789.  Other questions would take a costly Civil War to find the answers.

What is most wonderful about this entity we call the United States of America is that we have not yet reached our final form.  It has been a continual experiment in freedom and liberty, constrained by responsibility and accountability.  This is why the Constitution was never a final product, and would be amended time and again.  Many ideas have been tried and accepted.  Many others have been considered and cast aside.  We have made mistakes, yes.  But we have not yet, nor will we ever stop trying to get it right.  We are still today asking tough questions and seeking difficult answers.  Debates go on with the same passion as they did in that hot, humid summer of 1776.  We are still a young country when compared to the history of this world, but we will always be seeking a better way, a better life.  We continue to challenge expectations, even accepted assumptions.  We remain convinced that no matter how magnificent our achievements, we can always do better.

In my job as a tour guide aboard the USS Missouri Memorial, I talk to people from all over the world.  They have told me that what sets Americans apart is our absolute refusal to accept average.  As a culture, as a people, we are driven by excellence, and not just the hope, but the expectation that we will not only succeed in that task, but even exceed the goal.  We compete to be the best in all fields, in all endeavors.  We hate losing.  Even coming in second causes us to grumble and grind our teeth.  It has been that unrelenting drive that has resulted in our supremacy in so many fields.  Science, technology, engineering, math, bioscience, medicine and the arts.  We won the race to the moon, to Mars and the rest of the planets.  Today, Voyager I, Voyager II, and Pioneer X, three technological ambassadors, built and launched by America, have left our solar system and started their journey into the galaxy.  There, they will travel for millennia, carrying a message from humanity to intelligences far beyond that we were here, and that our restless, questing intelligence led us to the stars. 

It takes courage to challenge the unknown.  But America has never lacked that courage.  Our willingness as a country to accept that challenge comes not from government mandate.  It comes, rather, the way our nation was formed:  Of the people, By the people, and for the people.  President John Kennedy once said, “For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, 'holds office.'  Every one of us is in a position of responsibility.”  We, even we here, and those who follow us will be the ones who determine if we will continue to reach beyond the stars, or look only downward and dig our own grave.  We are a restless people.  Let us always be restless.  It will be our unwillingness to accept the present as permanent that will propel us upwards, along with the rest of humanity.  In that soaring journey, none of us can afford to sit quietly on the sidelines.

We had a granddaughter, named Zoe  who was born with a serious birth defect, missing a part of her fifth chromosome.  Now, there are 46 chromosomes in each human cell.  Cells are microscopic.  Chromosomes even tinier.  One might think that missing such an infinitesimally small thing might not be that big of a deal.  But in fact, it left her severely disabled. We lost her at the tender age of five months.

Each of us is only one of over 330 million people.  Like a chromosome within a cell, that may seem small and inconsequential.  But in a representative republic governed by the will of her people, there are no small parts, no insignificant pieces.

Nora Jones sang a song, “American Anthem,” in which were these words:

"For those who think they have nothing to share

Who fear in their hearts there is no hero there

Know each quiet act of dignity is that which fortifies

The soul of a nation that will never die."

There’s no magic wand, no Jedi hand wave which can make that happen.  It is too easy to look in the mirror and decide that we have nothing to contribute.  But each individual American is a collection of unique gifts, talents, and abilities that can spring to life in the fire of passion and possibility.  It remains to the individual to open the door and turn those gifts loose upon the world.

However, in order for this nation to live, we must decide to live together.  We have differences, yes.  But each individual has walked a separate path, a unique journey that has shaped their life and how they feel.  We don’t have to agree on everything.  But we must respect each other’s journey.  Let us instead look to those things that we have in common, that can unite, rather than divide us.  Remember those remarkable days after 9/11 when we as a nation stood together, arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder.  And remember that an America thus united cannot be defeated.

There is no better example of this than the passengers and crew of Flight 93 on that terrible day.  If you had been in the airport that morning and encountered one of them and asked later on for a description, you might have used the word “ordinary.”  As events unfolded, we know now that they were anything but ordinary.  In the face of grave danger, they decided together, stood together, and acted together.

John Wayne once said, “All battles are fought by scared men who’d rather be someplace else.”  The actions of those people on that day have been called valorous, brave, heroic.  Undoubtedly, they felt fear.  But that did not stop them.  The biggest difference, after all, between the courageous and the cowardly is how one reacts to that fear.  For some, the fear collapses into mindless, paralyzing panic.  But others embrace the realization that something needs to be done, and knowing that they can act.  I think that defines courage, the willingness to push fear aside and do what must be done.  Once again, President Kennedy: “The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.”

We live in perilous times in a dangerous world.  The drumbeats of war, once distant and indistinct are now beating loudly.  We hear them from the west, from China and North Korea.  We hear them from the east, from Russia and Iran, and in seemingly every direction from terrorist groups all over the world.  It is a time when our greatest courage and strength is needed.  But it is also a time when we face serious divisions from within.  After 9/11 we recognized and embraced that we were Americans first, last, and foremost.  We found that unity at a moment when we truly needed it.  And we can find it again.  It was an impassioned Patrick Henry who proclaimed, “United we stand, divided we fall!  Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs." 

The future of The United States of America is completely dependent on what we choose to do today; how we choose to act, and if we choose to stand together.  This is our choice, and our responsibility.  Abraham Lincoln was speaking to congress, but his words should resonate within us during these divisive times: “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.  We, even we here, hold the power and bear the responsibility.”

The freedoms we possess, and the freedoms we desire are completely dependent on our willingness to pay the price and endure the cost for those freedoms.  As long as that great bell of freedom rings, those clear, strong peals will be heard beyond our country, the great sound of hope for the world.

The United States of America has accomplished much in our nearly 250 years.  But before us is a future, fraught with peril; a steep, rocky and treacherous path over which we must walk, a mountain we must climb. 

Let us vow to walk together; to climb together, and together we shall stand at the summit and welcome the beautiful light, the dawning of a new day!

A Tribute to Docents

 

The End of World War II

Copyright © 2024 Text and image

by Ralph F. Couey

For over a century, battleships were the physical embodiment of a nation’s strength.  Much as nuclear-tipped missiles are today’s strategic weapons, battleships filled that function long ago.  A government’s ability to enforce its policies and exert its will was tied directly to the number of battleships it could put to sea.  In most cases, these great ships never had to fire a shot.  All they had to do was show up.  

In 1946, the Ambassador from Turkey died in Washington DC.  President Truman ordered that the Ambassador be taken home, but not by air.  USS Missouri, enjoying some otherwise quiet post-war years, was tasked with carrying the Ambassador back home for the last time.  This was seemingly a straightforward and honorable thing to do.  But in Turkey, a threat was growing.  The Soviet Union, seeking a free passage for their Black Sea Fleet into the Mediterranean had put the Turkish government under tremendous pressure to give up control of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits.  The government of Turkey was becoming shaky, and the people were fearful.  But on April 5, 1946, Missouri arrived and dropped anchor in the harbor of Istanbul.  The presence of this powerful ship, this unmistakable statement of support for that beleaguered government changed the entire situation.  The Turkish government stood tall, knowing they were not alone.  The Turkish people had their faith restored.  And the Soviets?  They backed down, knowing that nothing they had could stand against Missouri.  History was changed, this time without firing a shot.

She is a magnificent sight, a presence both majestic and powerful.  Battleship Missouri is a symbol of American strength and resolve.  She is also a physical reassurance, a promise to our friends that America will stand by you.  And, a message to our potential foes…think twice.

We tell the story of this ship so people can connect to it in a deeply personal way.  That Missouri’s history and the history of the nation whose flag she still proudly flies is also their history.  And they can also feel a sense of pride in the strength and resolve she represents.  People from other lands visit us, and they see America in this mighty ship. They feel the shared sense of America’s moral obligation to the world; the lengths we will go to ensure justice and protect the innocent and downtrodden.  It is a fact that no nation in history has shed so much of her own blood in the defense of other people’s freedom.  That we have, and are still so willing to fight and die for complete strangers.  It is so much who and what we are as a people, and to many throughout the world, a presence of sacrificial nobility. 

In the battles of war we took a lot of territory from the enemy, more than Rome, Egypt, and Britain combined.  But what we had taken, we gave back with one exception.  In the words of General Mark Clark, “All we asked was enough of their soil in which to bury our gallant dead.”  Consider for a moment a nation that holds and treasures such values above all others.  It says something about us, something we should remember and hold close.  That even in our darkest, most difficult moments, we will not let go of our humanity.

Yes, Missouri is a battleship; a vessel of war.  But she is also a symbol of peace.  

It was here on these decks that humanity’s longest and bloodiest war came to an end.  

It was here on these decks where two nations, once the bitterest of foes, began a friendship and partnership that would change the future.

It was here on these decks where peace was restored throughout the world.  

And it was here on these decks where hope was reborn.  That is important.  For of all the possible futures, the best future will always be the one founded on hope.

This is the story we tell.  Our official title is “Tour Guide;” sometimes we are called “Docent.”  But the real reason we are here every day runs so much deeper.  

We are custodians of the past; keepers of memory.  Those who once knew come to us and remember.  Those who never knew come to us and learn.  With respect, dignity, and pride we share the story of this great ship, and her place in history.  

We are her voice.

We are her legacy.

We are her life.

We will ensure that the world will never forget Battleship Missouri.