Dedication Day

One hundred and forty six years ago today, Abraham Lincoln spoke a few words at the Dedication of the new National Cemetery in Gettysburg. This speech has become the most famous speech in all of American history. Today, we celebrated that speech, in typical Gettysburg fashion, at the National Cemetery.

The ceremony was to begin at 10am. I arrived at 8:45. I wanted a good seat. By the time I arrived the first 3 or 4 rows were filled....so I had to sit about 6 rows back. The view was pretty good, though....once everyone put down their umbrellas. The weather wasn't sure what it wanted to do....rain or not. So it was a bit miserable.

The "President's Own" Marine Corps band played for about a half an hour prior to the ceremony. That was nice to sit and watch them while we waited. The wreath-laying ceremony was taking place at the Soldiers National Monument....and the Dedication Day ceremony was taking place at the Rostrum....not too far apart, but I wasn't giving up my seat....so I never got to see the wreath-laying.

When the ceremony finally began at 10:00, I was getting a bit cold. I guess two pairs of pants, a t-shirt, sweatshirt, coat, 2 pairs of socks, hat, gloves (brought a scarf but ended up sitting on that because the seats were so wet) weren't enough. But it was warmer than other years I've spent out there.

The colors were presented. They walked down the aisle and went right to the front. Then the Marine band played the Star Spangled Banner. I always get goose-bumps when I hear that song. It just always goes through me. We all stood, hand over our hearts, singing. Then we sat and the program went on.

Of course, we had to have the governor of the state of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, present. He gave a little speech and then he read a letter from President Obama. That's when the reason I was there, came up to speak. The key note speaker was actor Richard Dreyfuss.

I learned something about Richard Dreyfuss today. He's one of US. He said that he has walked the fields of Gettysburg 40-50 times in his life. He has contemplated the battle over and over again in his mind. And he was really honored to be asked to speak at today's ceremony. The gentleman who introduced him was telling us about how he had been giving a speech on Lincoln, one time, when he looked up and he was immediately distracted. He said, "How do you concentrate when Mr. Holland is staring at you?" That was the first time that he had met Richard Dreyfuss and that was when he learned that he was a student of the Civil War. Like I said, he is one of US. He gets it!

Mr. Dreyfuss then got up to talk. What I was a bit surprised about, but then not really, was that he didn't speak about himself. So often these guest speakers talk about themselves. He didn't. First, he wished his daughter, Emily, a happy birthday because today was her birthday. Then he went directly into his speech. He spoke about how Abraham Lincoln has become the forgotten president. They combined the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington to become President's Day and the only thing good that came from that was that there was now an extra day of school. By making President's Day, we forget about the two most important presidents this country ever had. He said that they have become just as important as Fillmore, Cleveland, and others who were just filling the seat....not doing anything important.

Then he went on to tell us about this initiative that he has started: to put Civics back in the classroom. The purpose of this initiative is to get the kids to understand that they "own" this country and that they are responsible for maintaining and updating it. Good for him. Too often, our country sits on the backseats in our classrooms anymore. I never even learned about the Civil War when I was in school. Everything I know is self learned. It shouldn't be that way.

After Mr. Dreyfuss's 10 minute speech, Mr. Lincoln (A.K.A. Jim Getty) gave the Gettysburg Address. Mr. Getty has been doing this for many, many years and it just wouldn't be a Gettysburg ceremony without him giving the Address.

After the ceremony was over, that's when things got emotional for me. We had a swearing in ceremony for 16 people who had decided to become American citizens. They all raised their right hands and agreed to the oath. Here were some people from around the world who have decided that America was where they wanted to spend the rest of their lives. They didn't move across the state...or across the nation....they moved to a whole new country, with new rules, new cultures, new everything. And then after being here for awhile, decided that they wanted to make this land their land. I had tears in my eyes during the whole thing. It was the greatest part of the day. This is something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. We gave them all a standing ovation. And then we all said the Pledge of Allegiance. For the first time in my life, those words REALLY meant something. It wasn't just something that I was reciting....it MEANT something, not to just me, but to everyone in that audience. I'm really proud of those 16 who chose to become U.S. citizens. What a cool place to get sworn in!

After all this, I went home....mostly to warm up....but also to think about all that I saw today. It's programs like this that make me proud to be an American.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advance. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion --to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.