Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses Grant on April 15, 1865 at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, ending the Civil War. However, this event did not actually end the war.

Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith was commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, charged with keeping the Mississippi River open to the Southerners. He also wanted to recapture Arkansas and Missouri from the Union.

After Lee’s surrender, Smith continued to lead his small army in Texas. He insisted that Lee and Joseph Johnston were prisoners of war following their surrender.

On this day in 1865, he finally surrendered to the Union, officially laying down his arms at Galveston on June 2.

Memorial Day began as a way to honor those who died in the Civil War and was known as Decoration Day. The holiday evolved after World War I to honor Americans who died in all our nation’s wars. It became an official federal holiday in 1971.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, “Decoration Day,” was written in 1882 to honor the Civil War dead but is a stirring way to remember all those who paid the ultimate price to serve our nation. It ends:

Your silent tents of green

We deck with fragrant flowers

Yours has the suffering been,

The memory shall be ours.

Remembering those who continue to fight

On this day after Memorial Day, I am thinking of those who died for us but also of those who survived their war but live with its consequences.

My father’s service in World War II marked him for the rest of his life. The US Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 30 percent of Vietnam veterans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder in their lifetimes. About 11 to 20 percent of those who served in the Gulf War,…

Yesterday was a Memorial Day unlike any in memory. Outdoor concerts and events were limited; parades to honor our fallen veterans were driven rather than walked. But the pandemic did not deter us from remembering with gratitude those who died for our freedoms.

As I reflected yesterday on more than one million women and men who died that we might live, I read John Stonestreet’s Memorial Day column. John’s BreakPoint articles are always excellent, but this one especially impressed me. 

In it, John shared a story Chuck Colson once told to honor Memorial Day. It was February 1945, three months before World War II ended in Europe. Eighteen-year-old Sergeant Joseph George was stationed in France and was preparing to go out on evening patrol. 

His friend, Private James Caudill, volunteered to take his place. He pointed out that, at age thirty-six, he was nearly twice as old as George. He told him, “You’re young. Go home. Get married. Live a full, rich life.” Then Private Caudill went out on patrol. 

A few hours later, he was killed by a German sniper. 

Sgt. Joseph George returned home safely. He married and fathered five sons. One of them, Princeton Professor Robert George, has been identified by the New York Times as “this country’s most influential conservative thinker.” 

Dr. George and his brothers will always know that their father survived the war because his friend died in his place. 

“I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting” 

Isaiah 50 is one of the “suffering servant” sections of the book (along with 42:1–4; 49:1–6; and 52:13–53:12). Each foretold what our Savior would experience centuries later. 

In our text, the Servant (Jesus) testifies: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught” (Isaiah 50:4). 

Our…

On Memorial Day, when we remember our fallen heroes, let’s not forget the plight of our surviving veterans during the coronavirus pandemic. 

As Christians, we are called to serve “the least of these”—people in need—and many veterans have special needs during this time. 

Veterans homes, like other nursing homes, have been the sites of some of the worst outbreaks in the country, including more than seventy deaths at a facility in New Jersey. 

Unemployment among veterans rose to nearly 12 percent in April, and the economic situation has become so dire that House Democrats recently proposed setting up tent cities for homeless veterans in the parking lots of VA hospitals. 

The emotional toll is more insidious. 

Many combat veterans suffer from PTSD, and about seventeen veterans a day commit suicide in this country, even during normal times. 

The effects of combat-related trauma run deep, down to the warrior’s very heart and soul. I know this from personal experience, having served four tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The war after the war

When my last deployment ended, I left Afghanistan and the war. But, like many who have been in combat, I found that Afghanistan and the war hadn’t left me. 

Everyone experiences the aftereffects of combat differently. There are, however, a few classic symptoms: anger, insomnia, obsessive-compulsive behavior, and flashbacks. A sudden sound like a siren going off can send you into “mission mode,” with a pounding heartbeat and burst of adrenaline. 

At one point or another, I suffered from all of these symptoms. Eventually, I got help, and there are some wonderful organizations that help veterans, but many veterans aren’t as fortunate as I was. 

There aren’t enough people and systems to help, and veterans keep falling through the cracks. 

Struggling with isolation

Today, as the founder of a Christian nonprofit called SOF Missions, I work with…

Today is Memorial Day, an observance held annually in the United States on the last Monday in May. On this day, we especially remember the more than 1.3 million Americans who have died in our nation’s wars.

As the son and grandson of soldiers and a proud and grateful American, I want to honor this day each year in the Daily Article and each day in my heart. 

However, there is a companion theme on this Memorial Day I’d like us to consider as well. 

A nurse with tears in her eyes 

I had minor outpatient surgery last week. I say that only to say that I interacted with several medical staff in the days leading up to and through the procedure. Each of them was wearing a mask and gloves; several were wearing protective gowns as well. 

That’s because, so far as they knew, I was infected with COVID-19 and capable of spreading the infection to them. 

One nurse with whom I spoke had an especially touching story. When she and her colleagues were cleared to return to work several weeks ago, her daughter moved out of their home. This daughter has been living with her older brother because her mother could become infected with SARS-CoV-2 at work and bring the infection home to her. 

As a result, this nurse has not been in the physical presence of her daughter for two months. They speak over Skype or Zoom every day, but it’s not the same. I will not forget her or the tears in her eyes as she told me her story. 

Thousands of healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 so far. Add to them the multiplied thousands of people working in other frontline capacities during this pandemic, from those who deliver groceries and supplies to those who police our streets to keep us safe. 

Each of them is risking their life and their family to serve us. 

How best can we observe this Memorial Day during a pandemic? Consider three biblical priorities. 

One: Remember 

Paul said of the Philippians, “I thank…

The following was first published on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013.

Memorial Day has its origins in the Civil War, when Southern women began decorating the graves of their war dead. On May 30, 1868, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. After World War I, the holiday was changed to honor those who died fighting in any war.

Flags today will be flown at half-mast. However, many do not know that on Memorial Day, the flag should be flown at half-mast from sunrise to noon, then “raised briskly” to the top of the staff until sunset to honor our nation’s battle heroes. American flags will be placed on gravesites at national and local cemeteries. And a national moment of remembrance will take place at 3:00 PM local time. (Most of us seem not to know that this observance is required by law of all Americans.)

Is there a unique contribution which Christians can make to our country on Memorial Day? Consider some of my favorite Memorial Day quotes in biblical context.

Mark Twain: “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” Whether we agree with our leaders or not, we are called by God’s word to pray for them (1 Timothy 2:1-2). Have you prayed for our president and other leaders yet today?

Billy Graham: “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” As our culture continues to turn from biblical morality, we are to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16). The apostles’ courageous witness before their nation’s leaders is our example and God’s call to us today (Acts 5:29-32). When we take our stand, others will stand with…