Column: Thoughts from Dr. Joe: He’s summoning young volunteers to help honor fallen soldiers

Maybe they would have liked to enjoy more of our sunny beaches and a cold beer; perhaps they would’ve preferred to play catch with the son or daughter they never knew. But they didn’t get the chance. More than a million men and women died, whether it was in the Marine barracks in Beirut, at Fallujah, or Hill-861, Khe Sanh, or Con Thien in Vietnam. They froze at the Chosen Reservoir and were shot at the Pusan Perimeter. They drowned in the surf at Omaha Beach or fell in the fetid jungles of Guadalcanal and Hacksaw Ridge. They died in the ice and snow of the Bulge. They were at the Somme, at San Juan Hill, Gettysburg, or Valley Forge.

They couldn’t be here this coming Memorial Day weekend, but they’ll understand if we don’t spend the day in tears. Grief is not why they died. They died so we could go fishing. They died so another father could hold his laughing little girl over the waves. They died so a family could go for some ice cream. The battle is the toss of the dice. Who decides who lives or dies?

This Memorial Day, which will be marked on Monday, May 29, we should all take a moment to save them a place inside our hearts and give them one backward glance when we leave for places they can no longer go.

In preparation for this year’s La Cañada Memorial Day Commemoration, I’ve established a command post at Starbucks and have been diligently summoning the volunteers, the children of La Cañada who will reverently conduct the service. I’m writing the script, researching, rehearsing the children, and sending and receiving a myriad of emails attempting to form my volunteer troop. The ceremony is driven entirely by children. My staff, Jack Joy, Elizabeth, Brent and Arland Whitfield; Jack MacKenzie, Ashley Lawrence, Jessica Stephen and my daughter Simone Puglia, will assist the children in the conduct of their duties.

Typically, I have a macro-perspective. However, as I sit at the bar at Starbucks enjoying a latté designed and built by Scarlet, I realize, the devil is in the details. Scarlet’s brew — made with love and a pinch of honey — is my saving grace.

The commemoration follows the guise of the “Landing Party Manual,” a style book on drill and ceremony. Its evolution dates back to Valley Forge where General von Steuben molded Washington’s Continental Army on the great parade field, teaching them the basics of drill and formation.

Our service is a child-driven event. Watching the color guard comprised of uniformed scouts moving ceremoniously en masse toward the flagpole is a visual metaphor. This year when the ceremonial adjutant, John Moore, orders the commander of the color guard, David Miketta forward, he attests “that the children are the future and they shall inherit the earth.”

Building relevant memories for children is the link between the past, present and future. If they understand the significance of what holds our democracy, as well as the components of virtue that solidify the human soul, they’ll ensure our collective survival.

Carrying the flag, citing the names of the La Cañada fallen, leading the Pledge of Allegiance and reading assorted prose are concrete experiences that bridge the gap between the abstract and an understanding of why this is significant.

The veterans who will be honored during the service will remember the deal they made with a buddy: “If I don’t make it back, drink a beer for me. I’ll do it for you.” On Memorial Day, drink that beer for those who didn’t make it home, go to the beach for them or have that barbecue. They’ll be there with us. Let’s celebrate the life they gave us.

“You never lived to see, what you gave to me. One shining dream of hope and love Life and liberty. With a host of brave unknown soldiers for your company, you will live forever here in our memory.” (“Requiem for a Soldier,” theme of “Band of Brothers.”)

JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.