This is my reply.
A colonel defends selectman's speech - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Local - News: "LETTERS
A colonel defends selectman's speech
July 7, 2005
In the July 3 issue of Globe West, you report that some Metrowest veterans were unhappy with a thoughtful Memorial Day speech delivered by Jay Ball, chairman of Natick's Board of Selectmen (''Veterans decry Natick selectman's speech'). In the speech, delivered on Natick Common, Ball highlighted the impressive record of Natick's sons and daughters in defending their country.
This is a venerable record of sacrifice and courage that may be traced from the early days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony to present-day Iraq.
The objections to Ball's speech stem from his pondering whether the freedoms for which young Americans fight abroad are being well-defended at home. In this respect, Ball is concerned about ''national security' being used as a rationale for subverting some of the freedoms that define Americans, including the right of free speech, the right to a legal counsel, and the separation of church and state.
Ball's critics believe that Memorial Day should be a day for honoring fallen warriors and not a day to raise broader questions about American values and principles. I do not share this view.
In fact, I would argue that to accept this perspective disconnects the glorious sacrifices of America's fighting men and women from the ideals that motivate citizens to serve under their nation's colors.
To see Memorial Day as only an opportunity to eulogize the fallen dilutes the day's importance. Freedom in America and the basic principles that undergird that freedom give meaning to the sacrifice of veterans.
I applaud Selectman Ball for challenging his fellow citizens to reflect on the vital connection between our fundamental freedoms and sacrifices of America's sons and daughters.
Augustus Richard Norton
Colonel, Army infantry, retired
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