Today is Memorial Day in the United States.
To some, things are returning to "normal" because parades, and other gatherings large and small--including retail store promotions-- will be held in person for the first time in three years.
For others, though, things will never be "normal," whatever that meant, again. Or, for them, there is a new definition of "normal."
Such people include the loved ones of those who died as a result of COVID--or this nation's nonstop wars. Such folks include Chris Kolenda, a retired U.S. Army Colonel.
Today, he will take a 100-mile Memorial Day Honor Ride. It will be followed by a barbeque and auction event at the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. He plans to use the ride, barbecue and auction to raise awareness for another, longer, ride he plans to start in late September.
That will take him across half of the nation to Arlington National Cemetery, just outside Washington, DC. That destination is not surprising, but, unless you know the motivation for his ride, its starting point is.
He's using his planned trip to raise money for the Saber Six Foundation, which he created to help the families and descendants of the unit he commanded in Afghanistan. The Foundation also supports a Rotary Club scholarship endowment for disadvantaged youths who aspire to public service.
During one particularly horrific tour in 2007, the West Point graduate lost six of the men under his command. One of them, Private First Class Chris Pfeiffer, hailed from Spalding, Nebraska--the starting point of Kolenda's planned tour.
From there, his route will take him to the gravesites of the five other soldiers who lost their lives:
Carroll, Iowa--Sergeant Adrian Hike
Ellwood, Illinois--Specialist Jacob Lowell
Hall, Indiana--Staff Sergeant Ryan Fritsche
Minersville, Pennsylvania--Captain David Boris
Arlington National Cemetery--Major Tom Bostick.
"They all died following my orders, doing things I asked them to do, being in a place I asked them to be," Kolenda said. "They deserve to have their stories told and they deserve to have their sacrifices remembered."
The first sentence of his statement should be on the gravestone of anyone who has led soldiers, sailors or other uniformed fighters who died under his or her command. Alter it slightly--I died following orders, doing what I was asked to do in a place where I was asked to be--and you have an epitaph for anyone who's died in battle.
Photos of Chris Kolenda by Jovanny Hernandez, for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
