Another war memorial?
It appears that the people are going to go ahead and build another stone memorial for the veterans in our little town. As someone who was in the military for a time, I want to reiterate that I do not believe that it is going to make anyone feel better about the wars that they fought for.
Did you know that at this time there are already nearly 400 war memorials in the state of Arkansas? At this time, there are already 11 memorials in Benton County as well. Question: Do we actually really need another one?
Here is my perspective.
Can anyone even remember the first, middle and last names of your great-great-grandma and -grandpa? If you can't tell me what their names were, then who's to say that anyone will remember the men and women whose names will be engraved in this memorial 50 or 100 years from now. It is not their deaths that should be remembered anyway, it is their lives that should be remembered.
To give you an example, can anyone tell me the names of any of the sailors who were on the battleships that were sunk when they fought the British in the Revolutionary War? It is a shame but no one knows or remembers their names. It is sad, but that is the reality of the situation. Memorials do nothing for the deceased. They might help the families for a few years, but after that they are forgotten. If you do not believe me, heck with some of these local graveyards where they can't even get anyone to pay the cost to mow the grass and do upkeep on them. There are a lot of them that have the grass grown up taller than the stone monuments.
I do not expect anyone to mourn or memorialize my death. I plan to be cremated and if my wife survives me, she is supposed to find a farmer who is putting in a big corner post for his field. I want to be poured down in the bottom of the hole and have the heavy corner post dropped down on my ashes. You won't find anyone standing there at the post remembering me.
Boyd B. McNiel
Pea Ridge, Ark.
Editorial on 09/21/2016