This post isn’t about my past work. There isn’t a traditional story here. This is just me scribbling down some thoughts in the near immediate aftermath of an event and trying to tie it to something bigger.
I am starting to write this blog around 1615-1620 hours, or 4:15-4:20 p.m. for civilians. At 1530 or 3:30, funeral procession of five of six cars stopped here in Wheatland, WY. Based on some questioning I did, the hearse contained the body of 21 year old Corporal Seth D. Rasmuson. According to my research, Corporal Rasmuson was part of a five man MV-22B Osprey crew which crashed during a training exercise Wednesday, June 8.
The procession came off of Interstate 25 via Exit 78. The turned left onto Mariposa Parkway, crossing the overpass and refueling at either the Exxon or Sinclair gas station. Cars were parked on the overpass itself and on either side, huddling Mariposa’s shoulders but taking care not to block the on ramp. If I were to guess, about two or three dozen people were standing on that bridge including law enforcement.
I found standing room beside a local minister and his family. The minister brought what I believe was a 3 foot by 5 foot of the American flag which his son and I held aloft. Other onlookers were waving smaller versions. While we waited, our presence on the overpass elicited a collection of car honks and truck horns from people driving by on the interstate.
After refueling, the procession was joined by five or six motorcycles. I could not identify their organization, but I would hazard a guess that they were either Veterans of Foreign Wars or American Legion riders. This new, enlarged convoy again crossed the overpass, turned back on to I-25, and resumed their journey north toward Corporal Rasumon’s home of Johnson, Wyoming. The whole event take around 20 minutes.
So why do I bring this up? Why describe this event? Well, what I’d like to do is pose an open-ended question to you the readers, then provide my own answer. Perhaps some moderated discussion can be created from this question. The question is as follows: why do we celebrate the Fourth of July?
Here is my answer: because it is one of the many holidays that we should use to remember and be thankful for those who willing enlist in one of the most important and dangerous jobs in American society. Some people may argue that we already have such holidays in the form of Memorial Day and Veterans Day. My polite counterpoint is that we should expand that list. Corporal Rasmuson’s death reminds us the level of danger for being a soldier, even in peacetime. And not just armed force either. What about those in first responder roles like police and firefighters? They ought to be respected and thanked too. Where is their dedicated holiday?
If I may propose another question for consideration, what is the quote-unquote “pop culture” reason for celebrating the Fourth of July? Is it just an excuse for us to have a three day weekend and ignite absurd amounts of fireworks for enjoyment? Is it a time for us to unite with family and enjoy being outside? It can be, it is, and it should be. But it should be done with the understanding that we celebrate today likely because someone else had to mourn.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States, October 27, 1964
America is not a perfect country. Nowhere is. But I will argue that we do have it very well here. And as we are readying to celebrate the adoption of one of our founding documents with gunpowder and grills, let’s soberly remember that the reason we can do so is because hundreds of thousands of volunteers, abroad and at home, garbed in green, tan, red, blue, and other colors, went to work and didn’t come back. All gave some. Some gave all. Please remember to say thank you.
James Meyer 