© Rabbi Menachem Creditor
with gratitude for the service of Michael Steinbaugh and Julie Weissman-Steinbaugh
Dear God,
We walk each day,
knowing the names of our fallen friends.
We listen to the bugle
as taps begin to play.
Chaplains lead prayers to You, God,
heads bowed low.
We thank You, God,
for the gift of memory,
through which fallen comrades
are alive today in the hearts in this room,
called to mind in every city
across this precious land.
We stare, God, at their caskets,
vivid in our memories,
draped with our nation's cloth,
another fallen soldier laid to rest.
God, we ask that you grant peace to
those still without proper burial places.
Draped them in the love and respect
of a nation that does not forget.
These Americans, men and women,
gave everything that we might live in freedom.
We ask that You hold them, God. Hold them close.
Dear God, Sometimes we struggle to breathe,
feeling the tightness in our chests.
How does the bugler hit every note
when we find it hard to even breathe?
The bugle is now silent
as we pray for the dead.
Lord God, bless our heroes
who have given their lives.
We ask that You comfort their children,
their husbands and wives,
their friends, their communities,
their country.
Let the bugle be silent.
Let no more soldiers fall.
God, we pray:
May the words of Your prophet someday soon ring true:
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,neither shall they learn war any more.
Amen.
