Memorial Day, 2005

Dan Sernoffsky

John Sholly grew up idolizing his grandfather, who had been a solider. Young John wanted to be just like him, and when the opportunity arose, he followed in his grandfather’s footsteps.

John Sholly’s grandfather had served his country at the end of the Civil War, and remained in the service for years after that. “Jonnie,” as he was known, enlisted in the American Expeditionary Force, serving in the U.S. 10th Field Artillery. On July 18, 1918, he was killed in action in France, the first resident of the city of Lebanon to die in World War I. He was 21.

George “Sonny” Emerich was, as his senior yearbook put it, a “congenial fellow — who should study more.” But while he may not have spent enough time hitting the books, he had no such problems when it came to sports. He was good enough to letter for two years for the varsity football team, but it was on the basketball court that he really excelled. In his junior year, he helped lead his team to the state championship. As a senior, he led the team in scoring.

Sonny Emerich graduated from Lebanon High School in 1941 and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps just over a year later. On Oct. 10, 1943, S/Sgt. George Emerich, a tail gunner in a Flying Fortress, was killed in action when his plane was shot down over Germany. He was 19.

Robert Schreiber was known for his sense of humor. At Lebanon High School, he was also known as “fearless Bob.” He was also a manager for the football team. When graduated in 1944, he enlisted in the Marines.

Bob Schreiber didn’t see action in World War II. He was at sea when the war ended, but wound up as part of the occupying force until his enlistment ended in 1946. Two years later, he decided to return to duty, this time joining the Army.

Sgt. Robert Schreiber was killed in action in Korea on Nov. 9, 1950. He was 25.

Harold Curtis Nye was out of school and working in Lebanon when he decided to enlist. It was October, 1966, and he opted for the Marine Corps.

PFC Harold Nye was serving with the 11th Engineer Battalion in Vietnam when he was killed June 24, 1967. He was 19.

Brett Swank grew up in Lebanon, where he was particularly active in Boy Scouts. He had just started high school, however, when his family moved to Northumberland, where he finished school. He joined the Army and specifically requested duty with the elite Rangers. He completed Ranger training and was planning to attend college, but requested active duty to be with his unit.

Sgt. Brett Swank was serving with his unit in Iraq on Jan. 24, 2005 when he was killed by a roadside bomb. He was 21.

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This is Memorial Day weekend. For most, it will simply be another three-day holiday weekend, a time to celebrate with picnics and ballgames and any other number of recreational activities.

To be sure, there will be some occasional solemnity, some parades in which aging men will still try to fit into the uniform they wore all those years ago and will honor their fallen comrades with the best approximation they can muster of pulling themselves to attention and offering a smart salute. And in cemeteries throughout the country, families and members of organizations like the Boy Scouts will decorate the graves of servicemen with American flags.

But somehow, the real meaning of Memorial Day will be missed. It is a day of commeration, and a day of celebration, a day to commerate the young men who sacrificed themselves, to honor their memories, and to celebrate the freedom they have bequeathed us, a freedom we so often take for granted and so foolishly ignore.

There is a disgustingly vile web site called Forsake The Troops, a web site which denigrates those who serve and who have served and which asks “What idiot risks their life for a country?” Those leftists and their ilk, those who deign to enjoy the fruits of liberty made possible the ultimate sacrifice made by young men like John Sholly and Sonny Emerich and Bob Schreiber and Harold Nye and Brett Swank fail to comprehend that without those sacrifices, without the country they risked, and gave, their lives for, they may well be realizing the reality of life under a Stalin or a Hitler or a Pol Pot or a Saddam Hussein.

The political left has made much of of claiming it “supports the troops, but not the war.” No one really supports war, but in the history of the United States, from Valley Forge to Gettysburg, from San Juan Hill to the Marne, from Iwo Jima and the Ardennes to Pork Chop Hill, from Khe Sahn to Fallujah, it has been the sacrifice of young men believing in their country who have established a democratic republic, ended slavery, halted imperialism, defeated fascism, thwarted communism and brought freedom to millions.

John Sholly, Sonny Emerich, Bob Schreiber, Harold Nye, Brett Swank. Just a list of names, remembered by their families, or perhaps not at all. But they are representative of so many more, so many thousands. It is Memorial Day weekend. They should be remembered.

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Dan Sernoffsky is an award-winning sportswriter and political columnist for The Lebanon Daily News in Lebanon, Pa. A career journalist, he is a graduate of Ottawa University, Ottawa, Ks., and attended graduate school at Central Michigan University. The father of four grown children, he and his wife reside in Lebanon.

dsernoffsky@yahoo.com