Iam grateful that I made the decision as a 17-year old to serve our Nation as a Soldier. I took the oath of enlistment more than 41 years ago, and I remember that day well. I did not reflect at that time what “supporting and defending the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic” could mean for me. Serving just seemed like the right thing to do. That tservice does not come without sacrifice — long hours, time away from family, missed events. For some that sacrifice is permanent and ultimate, and it is those whom we remember on Memorial Day.

On Memorial Day, we reflect on the ultimate sacrifice that men and women have made while in uniformed service to our Nation. Our Nation’s departed service members more than likely died in a way that none of us hope to endure – with fear and in pain, in austere, uncomfortable and unfriendly environments, in harsh conditions, and far from home and their families.

On Memorial Day 2005, I attended a service to remember the ultimate sacrifice of 84 American Soldiers and Marines who had been killed in action in the Anbar Provincial capital city of Ramadi over the previous nine months. Soldiers built a memorial fountain in their memory and lined up framed photographs of them along a rail. A powerful site to see – up close and personal. Young Americans taken at the prime of their lives. As we stood in silence before the program commenced, we heard “Amazing Grace” sounded from a lone bagpipe player from off in the distance near “Trooper Gate” – the access point to the Tamim neighborhood of Ramadi. For more than 15 minutes we stood in silence. Listening. Until First Sergeant Dwayne Farr of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines approached the monument and put down his instrument. A few hundred of us listened to Brigade Commander, Colonel Gary Patton’s reflections on these lives lost and the impact that they had – and will forever have – on each of us. I have never been with a group of people — before or since that day — who had all experienced such loss.

Not a day goes by that I do not remember the five Soldiers of the 224th Engineer Battalion (Iowa Army National Guard) with whom I served. These young men, all who were taken from us during a 12-month deployment. I repeat their names frequently, so I don’t forget. Richard “Brian” Gienau, Tripoli. Seth Garceau, Oelwein. John Wayne Miller, West Burlington. Casey Byers, Schleswig. Robert “Bobby” Briggs, Hillsboro. Their families, like millions of others during the history of our Nation, were forever changed. These men lost two lives – the lives they were living and the lives that they would never have. I am so honored and grateful to have served with them.

Marshall County has not been untouched by the impact of that sacrifice. United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal Darwin Judge was killed on April 29, 1975 – less than one year after graduating from Marshalltown High School – while defending the United States Embassy as a Marine Security Guard in Saigon, South Vietnam. This community honors him with the Darwin L. Judge Park in Marshalltown along with a scholarship in his name. Sergeant First Class Scott Nisely of Marshalltown was killed on Sept. 30, 2006, while leading a dismounted infantry squad near Al Asad, Anbar Province, Iraq. This community honors him with the Major Scott Nisely Post Office in Marshalltown. We honor their memory and we ask for blessings on their families. Marshall County commemoration of all who served and made the ultimate sacrifice is represented in the recently dedicated Veterans Memorial on the Courthouse grounds in Marshalltown.

Freedom is not free. One of our great Presidents, Ronald Reagan, shared with us that “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We don’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same”. This month, more than 1,800 Iowa Army National Guard Soldiers will deploy to do exactly that.

In October 2024, my wife and I visited Normandy for the first time. What an opportunity to reflect on service and sacrifice. I saw a quote there that read, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, ‘for your tomorrow, we gave our today.'” How appropriate. All of us owe a debt to those who did not return, and we should all make our lives worth their sacrifice. It’s an honor to serve.

——-

Todd Jacobus is the commandant of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs.