Honor our Troops, not Protest Them

Memorial Day is a time to remember the U.S. men and women who lost their lives serving their country. Originally known as Decoration Day, it was established in 1868 to commemorate the dead from the Civil War. Over the years it came to serve as a day to remember all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action in all wars.

Unfortunately, presidential candidate John Edwards wants to break precedence by supporting the troops and being anti-war at the same time. His campaign has established a web site to encourage people to protest the war on Memorial Day.

It is so amusing when they love using the phrase "support the troops" to insulate themselves from criticism. It is up to the politicians to end the war, not the military. The military will serve until the mission is done. Simple.

This is the Armed Forces' most sacred day. John Edwards' web site wants to ruin it. Listed are "10 things you can do over Memorial Weekend." They include:

* Get everyone you know to sign a petition to your local government body -- for instance, your town or city council or neighborhood association -- to pass a resolution requesting that Congress use its funding authority to support our troops and end the war.

* Organize a prayer vigil for our troops at your house of worship.

* At a picnic or with family and friends, make signs that say “SUPPORT THE TROOPS - END THE WAR.”… Then take a digital photo of yourself and your family or friends holding up the poster and tell us about it. We’ll include it in a “Democracy Photo Album” on our site.

* Greet a vet.

National Commander of the American Legion Paul Morin:

“The families of those killed in war should not be led to believe that their loved ones died for a less-than-worthy cause. They died because they took an oath to defend this nation and its Constitution. The sacrifice is the same whether it’s for a ‘popular war’ or an unpopular one. Memorial Day should be an occasion to bring Americans together to honor these heroes.”