Almighty God
We pray, reflect in different ways
But together mourn our dead,
And hope they have not died in vain.
The Civil War gave birth to Decoration Day,
A time for flags and flowers
On the graves of loved ones lost.
But new wars would see our men, our women, die
In far-flung corners of the world,
With graves some could not visit, some graves no one could find.
So this new day – Memorial Day –
Became the time to honor all our dead,
all our loved ones lost in war.
After war in Vietnam
We built this Wall of healing,
reminder, symbol,
that we must – and can — unite to mourn our dead.
Almighty God, during this time of sickness
Even as we seek a cure for disease that infects our bodies,
we must battle hatred and injustice –
Evils that afflict our souls.
For the sake of those we recall today
And for the sake of children, generations, still unborn
We pray our wounded hearts can heal,
Our nation can be healed,
And together we can face the future
United by a dream of justice, and a time of war no more.
And may we say, Amen.
This Memorial Day prayer for Vietnam War veterans was prepared by Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff in advance of a virtual ceremony on 25 May 2020, during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. For more details, find this article from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency by Ron Kampeas.
Recording
Contributor: Arnold E. Resnicoff
Co-authors:
Name: Arnold E. Resnicoff Bio: 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. Website:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Resnicoff Profile Link:https://opensiddur.org/profile/arnold-resnicoff
Featured Image: Title: 05-22-2020-Resnicoff Caption: A virtual rendering of Rabbi Arnold Resnicoff before the Vietnam Veterans Memorial for a Memorial Day commemoration during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic
