Memorial Day Prayer at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 31 May 2021

Contributor(s):

Arnold E. Resnicoff

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31 May 2021 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International copyleft license

Categories:

Memorial/Decoration Day (last Monday of May)

Tags:

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 21st century C.E., 58th century A.M., English vernacular prayer

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Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	O Lord our God and God of generations past, you commanded us, “remember”:^[1] Cf. Deuteronomy 32:7. remember, pass on, stories of the past, but also recall, retell dreams and promises of future, better times.
	And so, on this Memorial Day, At this memorial wall, I remember and I pray:
	I pray we mourn, remember, honor all lives lost In our armed forces, In service to our nation.
	I invite all others To join with me in prayer, But in this world So scarred by Sadness, fear and strife, I know some have given up on prayer, Some have lost their faith in faith.
	For them I ask they join me, at least, to dream; To reaffirm we have a dream that we can still make a difference, That we can still change the world.
	Dream with me That those we honor on this day Will never be forgotten, But we will build a future When we need not dig new military graves, And no new names need be inscribed on memorials of war; a time we beat our swords to plowshares And war will be no more.
	After Vietnam, we built this Wall to heal A nation torn apart by grief and war. Heal us again, I pray. Give us courage, strength and wisdom to keep today’s divisions from tearing us apart.
	And when we pray, let our lives become our prayers: Praying with our bodies; praying with our legs, Standing up for what is right: For equality, humanity, justice, Righteousness in what we say and do.
	Today, to honor those who sacrificed their lives Let us embrace old patriotic words – “The Liberty Song”^[2] ”The Liberty Song” — a pre-American Revolutionary War song with lyrics by Founding Father John Dickinson. The song is set to the tunes of “Heart of Oak”, the anthem of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The song itself was first published in two colonial newspapers, the Pennsylvania Journal and the Pennsylvania Gazette, both on July 7, 1768. that once inspired founders of our nation, And now must touch our hearts, inspire us again: “Join hand in hand, brave Americans all, By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.”^[3] From the seventh stanza of “The Liberty Song.” Find note above.
	I pray we can unite and stand. I dream we can unite and stand: And united through our words, our actions, and our dreams, proclaim liberty throughout the land.
	And let us say, Amen.

Notes[+]

Notes
1	Cf. Deuteronomy 32:7.
2	”The Liberty Song” — a pre-American Revolutionary War song with lyrics by Founding Father John Dickinson. The song is set to the tunes of “Heart of Oak”, the anthem of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. The song itself was first published in two colonial newspapers, the Pennsylvania Journal and the Pennsylvania Gazette, both on July 7, 1768.
3	From the seventh stanza of “The Liberty Song.” Find note above.

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“Memorial Day Prayer at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff on 31 May 2021” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.

Arnold E. Resnicoff

Arnold E. Resnicoff (born 1946) is a Conservative rabbi who began his career serving as a military officer and then as a military chaplain. He served in Vietnam and Europe before attending rabbinical school after which he was a U.S. Navy Chaplain for almost 25 years. After the Vietnam War, he promoted the creation of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and delivered the closing prayer at its 1982 dedication. Rabbi Resnicoff was present at the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the following year, President Ronald Reagan shared Rabbi Resnicoff's eyewitness account. After retiring from the military he became the National Director of Interreligious Affairs for the American Jewish Committee and served as Special Assistant (for Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, serving at the equivalent military rank of Brigadier General. Resnicoff holds several degrees, including an honorary doctorate. His awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Department of the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Chapel of Four Chaplains Hall of Heroes Gold Medallion.

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The Lincoln Memorial reflects from the face of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial after a snowfall. (credit: Don-Montgomery, license: Public Domain)

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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17