Editor’s note: The following are excerpts from a speech delivered by longtime Casco resident Phil Cole at last weekend’s war memorial dedication in Casco.

We have assembled here today to dedicate a memorial to those citizens of Casco, Maine who have served their country in time of war to preserve the security of this great nation and other worldwide nations that value the freedom of individual experience.

I would like to thank the memorial committee for this invitation to speak today.

It may be obvious to some of you that I am not a spring chicken and, in fact, I was born during the World War I conflict. Subsequently, as a young student I was stirred by the history of that conflict and the horrors of trench warfare and use of “modern” weapons of mass destruction such as mustard gas. I well remember the celebrations of “Armistice Day,” which we now know as Veterans Day, and the strong community acknowledgment of the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform and civilians on the home front.

There were 35 men from Casco who served in that conflict. Yet even though these men lived out their lives among us, these survivors of war did not dwell on their war experiences and it was far from the consciousness of the younger generation that some day we, too, would be serving our country under the even more lethal circumstances of World War II. I well recall the opening lines of a poem written by Lt. Colonel John McCrae subsequently killed in World War I which say:

“In Flanders Fields the poppies blow between the crosses row on row…”

Picture if you will fields of crosses row on row as in Europe, the Pacific and at Arlington National Cemetery and other locations around the world; young men and women paying the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live in freedom to pursue life, liberty and happiness.

As time moved on and I found myself in college in Boston, we were all thinking the unthinkable; the possible involvement of the U.S. in another “European” war. Nazi Germany was on the offensive crushing the Maginot Line in France and forcing the retreat of the British Army through a place called Dunkirk where a vast armada of small military and primarily civilian craft crossed the English Channel and executed a heroic rescue by snatching the British Army away from annihilation.

In 1939 and 1940 Nazi Germany was invading the low countries and headed for Russia. Our concerns about getting involved in another “European war” were answered with the unprovoked Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, that “day of infamy,” Dec. 7, 1941, when the world plunged into a global conflict. The men and women of this great nation responded to the crisis by enlisting by the tens of thousands, converting manufacturing from domestic product to war materials, women taking the place of men on the production lines, sacrificing personal consumption so to make food, clothing, footwear, metals, etc. available for military use. It was a national cause and a national commitment. Our freedom and way of life was truly on the line.

Yes, we are familiar with the places; Normandy, Anzio, Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Midway, Iwo Jima, Philippines and so many more. And we know the outcome: an evil axis was defeated by people who knew their cause was just, costing 256,000 American military lives.

It is fitting that we should dedicate this memorial at this time in our nation’s history. I am not sure that we as a people believe that we live in the greatest country in the world where each individual is free to pursue one’s own concept of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

I am not at all sure that we are providing adequate education to our youth so that they may understand that the liberties and successes we enjoy today are the direct result of the willingness of previous generations to protect our way of life through diplomacy with military action as a last resort. People do have an inborn sense of “self-preservation.” This self-preservation includes family, community and the nation as well. At the same time, some people understand that preservation of the values we hold most dear do require sacrifices for the greater good.

Today, there is an attitude among us that the United States is an imperialist nation with motives of expansion and acquisition of foreign lands and territories. I would ask anyone with this attitude to name the acquisitions of the United States in 20th century war. Yes, we did acquire some lands as a result of war; yes, those fields that bear those crosses, row on row, sentinels of American soldiers who laid down their lives, not only for the United States of America, but for all countries who value the basic unalienable right of freedom and self-determination. One may call this “imperialism,” but I do not. Europe and Asia have been rebuilt in large part due the enterprise and benevolent character of the American people.

In closing, we are aware that diplomacy did NOT rescue the United States from involvement in two world wars where the aggressors were engaged in blatant efforts at territory acquisition. Today, we face a threat where the enemy is engaged in an effort to destroy our very way of life as Western Civilization. This religious-based extremism does not respond to diplomatic contacts, although we continue to seek peaceful solutions via this avenue. We must use our most aggressive diplomatic and military efforts to protect our freedoms from those world-wide forces that seek our destruction.

For me, dedication of this memorial today is to recognize not only the sacrifices of our veterans but also to recognize that former generations have had to fight to ensure our survival up to now. We need to rededicate ourselves and fire up the resolve to protect this great nation for ourselves and future generations. It is in this spirit that we honor all veterans memorialized here today.

Thank you.

Where diplomacy failed, resolve won