Remember Our War Heroes on This Independence Day (1991)

by Jeffrey Bingham Mead
Greenwich Time, Greenwich, Connecticut
July 4, 1991

Soldiers of Operation Desert Storm: Welcome home!

A grateful nation commemorates the Declaration of Independence made by our founding fathers 215 years ago. At no time since the 1976 bicentennial has an Independence Day been so special. The blessings of freedom, liberty and democracy have been reaffirmed by your acts of courage in the face of tyranny and totalitarianism. For all of you, it is our task to do proper justice to your service to America as it navigates the rough waters of an uncharted New World Order.

Operation Desert Storm was dazzling and memorable. Free nations revere and venerate the distinguished military and political personalities of our American heroes, the all volunteer citizen soldiers of America's armed forces.

Common purpose became the cornerstone of unity, unleashing shared patriotic pride for many of us on the home front. We waved the American flag, tied yellow ribbons, wrote letters to help keep up your spirits and so much more. We shared in the wisdom of your mission and kept faith in our leaders. Through you we were reminded of the American ability to achieve excellence, graciousness and compassion in victory.

Among you were people from all walks of life, our neighbors, our relatives and friends, people from across the spectrum. Beneath that semblance of ordinariness you stood out as America's best. In the name of freedom and liberation you endured the burdens of heat and cold, the desert terrain, the dangers of combat and capture, hunger, thirst, fatigue, exhausting days and sleepless nights, and separation from loved ones and communities. We know the meaning of courage and endurance now more than ever before.

Like a millions everywhere, I watched television with a sense of awe and astonishment as the gripping drama of war unfolded in our living rooms. We discovered that something larger than life was at work. We were gripped by the reality that we on the homefront were spectators in a high-tech arena, witnessing history unfold before us. Time and distance became irrelevant as combat began. As our euphoria increased, so, too were our hearts set on fire by the enthusiasm of your devotion to carrying out the causes of emancipation and freedom in a distant part of the world.

Your task has been to blend the elements of moral stability, disciplined decorum and physical aptitude. To say that we are grateful for these things is an understatement. The path you have trod has promoted such positive qualities as self-reliance, growth, maturity and unity and teamwork.

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, a week before the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, wrote to his young daughter: 

"War is a terrible thing, especially when as now we are fighting thousands of others… and they are defending their country, their homes and families against foreign invaders… remember how easy it is for people to become deceived and drawn in step-by-step, till war, death and distraction are upon them."

In time to come, many histories of Operation Desert Storm will be produced, and they will be found in history courses in classrooms everywhere. As a teacher and historian, I believe that you, and those who died in battle, are a testament to the virtues of democracy. 

The record history is more than just a chronicles of battles and sacrifices. Your mission in the years to come must be to preserve this historic episode, not only for our sake but for your descendants as well. Do not let your legacy be the feasting ground of armchair analysts and members of the gin-and-tonic pundit pack. 

My sincerest hope is that the history of Operation Desert Storm will be told as completely as possible by its participants. Through journals, diaries, letters, interviews and more, present and future generations will be offered a colorful array of insights.

As Herbert Beecher, historian of the First Light Battery Division of Connecticut Volunteers in the Civil War, wrote in 1901, your historical legacy involves the "story of the soldier in time of war, showing the dark as well as the light side of camp life, of hardships endured in the trenches and on the march, of the horrors of the battlefield... Comrades have recalled the adventures in which they were engaged, have narrated personal incidents and described the battles in which they participated, each one telling the story as he knew and saw from his point of view… It tells of the bond of sympathy that becomes close between comrades who pursue the same routine, go to rest and rise up at the call of the bugle… Only those who have experienced it can really know entirely the time of a soldier is occupied."

The history of Operation Desert Storm must be worthy of those who participated in it. The task of telling the story goes to you. Hindsights and retrospectives of the hardships, anxieties and destruct of the war is the greatest deterrent to such an event happening to America again. 

In the years to come there will be picnics and reunions at homes and parks across the nation, when you as older men and women get together to reminisce about the old days, sharing fond memories of acts of valor and bravery.

So here's to you this Independence Day 1991! Thank you on behalf of all Americans and friends around the world for your service and sacrifice.


Jeffrey Bingham Mead is a direct descendant of one of the founding families of the town.