Commentaries

Opinion: The story of U.S. greatness, written throughout our past, is not yet complete

Memorial Day is an opportunity to describe that character, that quality.

May 25, 2025 at 10:29PM
The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Joe Lamberti/The Associated Press)

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Memorial Day is a time for pensive reflection on the sacrifices that a tiny minority of Americans make for everyone else. Their commitment to the country can be summed up by the oath taken by military officers. It’s very similar to the one our president and other constitutional officers take (but perhaps with less conviction than us?):

“I, having been appointed a [rank] in the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter.”

Just words when written, but when spoken they take on a greater meaning. I admit I didn’t fully understand the importance or gravity of them when I took that oath as young second lieutenant 55 years ago. However, when you march through many years of war and peace in the company of others who have taken the same oath — an oath that many fulfilled with their lives — those words strike home. It caused me to think more deeply about my country: How great it must be to encourage men and women to willingly take such an oath. Now some suggest that our greatness is past and must be reclaimed?

I reject that.

This Memorial Day it is more important than ever to remember that greatness is not some arbitrary point in time dictated by individuals. It is a culture arrived at over decades and centuries; I think it is better to describe what makes America great than when it was great.

Just a few examples of our greatness, some well-known, some not:

  • In 1927, flying for 33½ hours, 25-year-old Minnesota lad Charles Lindbergh made it nonstop from New York to Paris. A Nazi sympathizer at first, he came to his senses and served honorably in World War II. An excellent example of we complex Americans, capable of great — and stupid — things alike.
    • The Tuskegee Airmen were a primarily Black World War II Air Corps fighter unit. Despite being segregated and fighting racism throughout the war, their unit had one of the best combat records.
      • In 1948, the U.S. government implemented the Marshall Plan. In one of the greatest examples of wise governmental policy in history, we gave the current equivalent of more than $130 billion to the devastated countries of Europe. Yes, it was good for us, but this was America at its finest.
        • Also in 1948, the communists blockaded West Berlin. We then undertook, along with the Brits, the greatest airlift ever. For 18 months we supplied 2.5 million Berliners with everything from coal to food, losing 17 aircraft and 31 crew members in the process. Again, America at its best at solving a problem and sacrificing for others.
          • In 1950 to 1953 in Korea, nearly 37,000 U.S. troops died in the Forgotten War.
            • In the mid-1950s, the U.S. started the interstate freeway construction project that didn’t end until 1992. At the cost of more than half a trillion current dollars, we built more than 40,000 miles connecting the entire country.
              • In 1963 came the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s brilliant “I Have a Dream” civil rights speech.
                • In 1969 came the Stonewall Riots in New York City, the beginning of the LGBTQ rights movement.
                  • From 1965 to 1975, 2.7 million soldiers, including 11,000 women, served in the tragic, unpopular Vietnam War. More than 58,000 Americans died — yet most GIs came home not to cheers, but jeers and vitriol for doing what their country asked of them. Greatness comes in many forms, including taking abuse for your service and sacrifice.
                    • From 2001 to 2021, there were more than 7,000 deaths in the war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 159 women. Others returned to a well-deserved “thank you for your service.”
                      • In the controversial 2000 presidential election, the Supreme Court had to step in and force a decision. We may or may not agree with the outcome, but what might have caused a coup or bloodshed in other countries did not occur because of respect that the loser and his voters had for the Constitution — one of the greatest achievements in our government’s history.
                        • On 9/11, Midwesterner Todd Beamer was heard saying, “Are you ready? OK, let’s roll.” Passengers on Flight 93 then forced the locked cockpit door to break in and take control of the plane from the hijackers, sacrificing themselves but saving many others on the ground.
                          • More than 3,600 health care workers died caring for others in the first year of the pandemic.
                            • On Jan. 6, 2021, at least 138 law enforcement officers were injured, with 15 hospitalized, some with severe injuries, in battling more than 2,000 insurrectionists. Five died during or after the attack.
                              • An unusual form of greatness: Vice President Mike Pence did his job that day, even as his boss wanted to kill him.

                                Not all greatness requires heroes or fame, nor does it require an oath. Every day, somewhere in America, millions of average people are still doing great things. It could be volunteering to be an election judge, tutoring a child, serving Meals on Wheels — protesting government overreach and malfeasance? — or any number of things.

                                We make America great!

                                Today we acknowledge the sacrifices of our military members. Let us stay worthy of that sacrifice by remaining a great nation through our actions, large and small.

                                D. Roger Pederson, of Minneapolis, is a retired military officer and health care analyst.

                                about the writer

                                about the writer

                                D. Roger Pederson

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