Robert Gould Shaw was an officer in the Union Army during the Civil War and came from an abolitionist family in Boston. He was killed leading his men to the parapet of Confederate-held Fort Wagner outside Charleston, SC on July 18, 1863. What an incredible life he led…snuffed out in a full frontal assault on a Confederate coastal fortress that was never captured. The candle that burns twice as bright burns half as long; Colonel Shaw died at the age of 25.
How utterly tragic…man has but one life to live. Short and fleeting; and easily extinguished. We work so hard only for it to be forgotten and taken up by the man that follows. Col. Shaw’s work, too, will one day be forgotten. Though life is short and full of hardship we still kill one another! For what? Why? Why is this acceptable? The heart of man is broken.
I think of the soldiers that have fallen and it saddens me. They were babies once, loved by their parents. They scraped their knees, learned to walk, ate, drank, celebrated, loved, and hated. They did everything we did. But, in an instant, the spark of life can be removed from their eyes. In an instant. I know, it’s scary being out there, rifle in hand, not knowing if you’ll make it back. My time was minuscule and insignificant. What about Colonel Shaw? How about the men who fought under his command? One cannon blast from someone they never met and it’s all over. Never again to see another birthday, to feel the grass beneath their feet, or a cool breeze through their hair. Their voices are forever silent. Utterly tragic. This is why you and I honor our soldiers and police officers. This is why we honor those who served.
Brave men run towards the danger so we don’t have to. We get to live comfortably and peaceably because others choose to relinquish their comforts and their peace. Men like Colonel Shaw were patriots that ought to be honored and remembered.
