Land of the Free and Home of the Brave

On behalf of the KMHS Board, we wish all our members and readers a safe memorial weekend as we take time for remembrance of the US servicemen and women who paid the ultimate price in combat.

Our 117 445th Kassel Mission heroes who passed on 9/27/44 gave all - perished in the prime of their youth defending our freedom. Their sacrifices are not forgotten and are the very reason why KMHS exists.

It is never lost on any of us how blessed we are to live in the land of the free, because of the brave. I do believe that those that fought and died in our country’s wars would be proud of what our country has built on the shoulders of their sacrifices. But, I also wonder what message they would send to us today on how best to deal with our challenges at home. They fought to protect their families at home and to protect our way of life from foreign threats. Could they have ever imagined the threats from within with our gun violence plague?

There are no simple answers for this, but, for instance, the men and women of the “greatest generation” had many wartime problems to solve but worked together and made the necessary decisions. Not always perfect, and often controversial, needing cooperation and compromise.

They took action nonetheless to ultimately achieve victory. In both leadership and followership, decisiveness takes bravery. No decision and no action emboldens the enemy and broadens the threat. The men and women who have perished, and whom we memorialize today, would have little tolerance for such non-action.

On this Memorial Day, from all of us and our families at KMHS, we salute those that served and sacrificed. We are your legacy and we hope to keep you proud of us still living in the land of the free, home of the brave.