Muslim American Veterans Association Tenth Annual Wreath Laying Ceremony

November 11, 2007; 10-11AM

Washington Mall, WWII Memorial

17^th St at Constitution and Independence,

Washington, DC

Address by: Dr. Christopher C. Bell, Jr.,

Major, USAR Retired

Past Commander, Muslim American Veterans Association

Post Number One, Washington, D.C.

    Friends and fellow Americans, I greet you in the traditional Muslim fashion, As Salaamu Alaakum.

    It is once again that we, representatives of the Muslim American Veterans Association, have come on Veterans Day to the greenery of this historical Mall to honor America’s military veterans.  This VeteransDay is the tenth time that Muslim American Veterans have come here for a wreath laying ceremony.

    As you may know, VeteransDay is intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to the security of this nation are appreciated, and to underscore to all that military veterans have sacrificed and done their duty to protect this country.

    Today we are poised to lay a wreath in honor of those veterans who served during World War II. We have several members of our post, POST Number One of Washington D.C. of theMuslim American Veterans Association, who are veterans of World War II.  And so we shall pause to honor and acknowledge them, along with all the military veterans who served during that war.  Our Post Commander, Brother Saleem Abdul Mateen will recognize these members in a separate part of our program.  The names of our honorees are:

  Sheik Abdul-Karriem, Brother Lee Islam, Sister Habibah Nurridin, and Sister Barbara Martin.

    My Friends, we now stand on this mall in the first decade of the twenty-first century, and once again our nation is at war.  This means that once again the soldier, the marine, the sailor, and the airmen will be called upon and placed at risk and “In Harm’s Way” by the decisions of our President and our Congress.  When I use the word “soldier” today, I am also speaking of the marines, sailors, and airmen, both male and female, who are members of our uniformed military services.

    We know that one of the functions of the military is to fight the wars which our President and our Congress declare must be fought. However, the soldier must be kept grounded because the politics of the times may rapidly change.  

Key to the soldier’s sense of grounding is

 his commitment to do his duty,

 his love for his home and family,

 and his mutual concern for the well-being and safety of his buddies, who share with him the dangers of the combat zone of the theater of operations.

    With this grounding, the soldier goes forth and engages the enemy.  As a result of this engagement, he is sometimes killed in the line of duty.  So it falls to the soldier to commit to do many tasks and to hazard many risks that other Americans would not dare to undertake; even though these other Americans are likely to be enjoying more freedom, greater benefits and privileges, and economic advantages than the soldiers who struggle, fight, and die to guarantee them these benefits, privileges, and advantages.  If the soldier dies in the line of duty, it falls to the soldier’s family to be the first and foremost of those to suffer lost and heartbreak.  As we look around us and view this Mall and its assemblage of stone, marble, greenery, and foliage, we are reminded that the individual building bricks for these memorials are forever imbedded or entwined in the heroism and sacrifices of our soldiers and of those soldiers’ families.  We should never forget that in times of war, the military family sacrifices more than the average American family.  We should not forget this, but often, too often, our own governmental agencies and our Congress forget.  When I think on this reality, I am reminded of the poet who spoke of The Soldiers’ Lot.  The poet said:

In times of trouble it’s the soldier we call

To stop the enemy and charge the wall

When the war is over and danger is pass

It’s the soldier’s lot we think of last

If the soldier dies while answering our call

Our negligence will upon his family fall

And so it has been from all times past

The military family has always come last

Can our generation change the trend

And consider first thesoldier at war’s end?

Moreover, can our leaders find the visionary lens

To stop and to talk, before trouble begins?

    The poet was on point with his message.  However, our leaderss have yet to find the visionary lens the poet suggested, and until they do, we must be mindful of certain realities:

  We Americans do not enjoy the freedom of the press because of the diligence of our newspaper reporters.  We enjoy this freedom by virtue of our Constitution and the past and present sacrifices of the soldier

  We Americans do not enjoy the right to vote to determine our governmental representatives because of the finesse and wealth of our politicians.  We enjoy this right by virtue of our Constitution and the efficiency of our military and our soldiers

  We Americans do not enjoy freedom of religion because of the preachments and prayers of pastors, or ministers, or Imams, or Bishops, or Rabbis.  We enjoy this freedom by virtue of our Constitution and the historical role and sacrifices of our soldiers.

  We Americans do not enjoy the right to assemble and petition our government with our grievances because of the writings and lectures of our learned university professors.  We enjoy this right by virtue of our Constitution and the defense of that Constitution by our soldiers.

    America’s status in the world, as we know it, depends in part on America’s over all military power.  This power, as we know it, depends on its lowest indivisible denominator, the soldier.  It is because of the soldier that Americans experience the individual and collective freedoms that are the envy of the rest of the world.

    In a few minutes we shall recognize our honorees and lay a wreath at this memorial.  As we do so:

   Remember that when we lay this wreath, we veterans are acknowledging our brotherly and sisterly kinship with our comrades who are dead, who have heard their final TAPs, and who are now resting in the bosom of their Maker, at “Post Everlasting.”

   Remember that when we lay this wreath, we veterans are giving to ourselves, because we take from this experience a resurgence ofstrength and a fresh awareness that we must now move forward as good civilian citizens.  We must do our duties as citizens with the same commitment that we did our duties as soldiers.  And we must remember that we can only be good citizens when we take seriously our civic responsibilities:

To read and keep ourselves informed,

To vote for and to monitor our government representatives

To work to improve America and ourselves

To raise and educate our children as well as we can

To speak and act in a manner that promotes the ideals of racial fairness and social justice within our communities, our cities, and our states

 To extend the hand of friendship to all American citizens regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual preference, and religion

    If we can do these things we will have become good citizens.  If we can do these things, America will continue its struggle toward maximum individual freedoms and a state of awareness where thoughts of the soldier and the soldier’s family will be first in the conscience of our nation

   Alhamdulilah, and may God Bless America!