John 5:28
“Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice.”
In the aftermath of World War I, many parents from Great Britain, whose sons did not return home, tried to come to terms with their losses by traveling to Northern France or Belgium to search for their beloved sons. Often, they found no trace. In two battlefields, the Somme and Passchendaele, for example, it was frequently impossible in the heat of battle to give the remains proper burial, so they were left where the soldiers fell, disappearing under the muck and mire of muddy grounds. No grave, no headstone, no memorial place for loved ones to grieve their loss or to pray; no plot of ground on which to decorate with flowers.
American parents, spouses, brothers, and sisters have experienced the same losses in that war and other wars since, with a fallen son, husband, father, brother, or sister never coming home to be given a proper burial. In foreign fields they lay, known but to God.
The exact words are inscribed on the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery: “Here rests, in Honored Glory, an American soldier, known but to God.” The Tomb contains the remains of unknown American soldiers from World Wars I and II, the Korean Conflict, and the Vietnam War.
No matter the final resting place of the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice in foreign fields and beaches, at sea or in the air, each name is known to God, and a day is coming when all shall hear His voice. Hallelujah!
O, God, may we be forever grateful to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for the sake of our freedom. Teach us, Lord, that the best way to show our gratitude is to demonstrate by our lives that we haven’t forgotten. May each day be Memorial Day in our hearts. Amen.
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