11 November 21, Anno Domini
Veterans Day Letter
For God and the soldier we adore, In time of danger, not before!
The danger passed, and all thing righted, God is forgotten and the soldier slighted.
- Rudyard Kipling
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LSO he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. * 6 And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, * 7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: 8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 32:5-8)
Should one be so blessed as to be present on the outskirts of Yorktown in Virginia with the combined ground forces of the Continental Army under General George Washington and the French allied artillery which had devastated the interior lines of the British Army gathered there under Lt. General Charles Cornwallis, he would be privileged to hear the awkward notes of fife and drum playing an old favorite of the day, “The World Turned Upside Down.” The date was 19 October 1781 and the occasion was the surrender of the British Army under Cornwallis to the Continentals under General Washington.
Cornwallis had marched his army into the area expecting to establish a deepwater port at Yorktown. But before the surrender, he was dismayed to see the white sails of the French Naval Fleet standing offshore and ready to destroy any reinforcing troops of the Brits from New York. Cornwallis for forced to surrender his 8,000man army along with its colors, but Cornwallis was too proud to attend the surrender. It was a miraculous victory (literally) that the rag-tag Army of the Colonies had defeated the greatest land and sea power on earth of the time.
Strange how well we remember the end of wars and recall the beginnings with less clarity. What high school child would not remember the importance of the surrender of the great General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox? Or the declaration of the Armistice signed in a clearing of the forest at Compiégne, France on 11 November 1918 at the eleventh hour of the day. That day became known as Armistice Day, and later as Veterans Day (or Remembrance Day).
Are than any of elder status who do not remember the newsreels of General Douglas MacArthur presiding over the Imperial Japanese representatives’ signing of the surrender documents ending World War II?
Other wars have ended with less finality such as the Korean War, the War in Vietnam, and, more recently, the fiasco of the withdrawal from Afghanistan which will go down as one of the most shameful moments in American history.
But every engagement of American troops in battle, and every war in which we have been engaged from Yorktown to Kabul, has seen our forces blessed by a power little understood in the world at large. That power has been the hidden Hand that wields the saber of victory, and that Hand is God. America seems to have forgotten that mighty Power that has sustained our liberties from those primitive days of miraculous victory at Yorktown and a thousand other far-flung battles. Well has the Psalmist reminded us: “Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?” (Psalm 88:12)
The Victorian Bard counseled:
God of our fathers, known of old --
Lord of our far-flung battle line --
Beneath whose awful hand we hold
Dominion over palm and pine --
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget -- lest we forget!
~ from Recessional, by Rudyard Kipling
Dear friends and compatriots, May I ask a searching question of the readers of this letter? Are we the same fervent Christian patriots who faced the overpowering force of the British Army on the plains of Boston? Are we the same caliber of Americans who carried the Battle at Vera Cruz, at San Juan Hill, at Bastogne, or the ice cold withdrawal from Chosin Reservoir in North Korea? If we are not, it is owing to one quality – the quality of an unconquerable faith in the God of Battles that has sustained our liberties for all these years and centuries. Remember, our spiritual liberty and freedom was purchased by our Lord on the cross at Calvary, and a continued sacrifice of blood must be spilled in sustaining the freedom of our nation – else we die in depravity of chains.
Jerry L. Ogles
Presiding Bishop
United States of America
Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
Let us pray,
For the Armed Services. BCP 41
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LORD God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect the soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coastguardsmen and contractors of our country. Support them in the day of battle, and in the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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LMIGHTY God, we give you thanks for those who answered our country’s call, who rode towards the sound of gunfire and did not cower. We give you thanks for those who are with us today and for those who are with you for ever more. Lord, we give you thanks for the sacrifice made on our behalf by them and their families. Lord we ask that you give us warriors who will follow your way on behalf of our country, all of which we ask in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
