For many families, Memorial Day is a mix of profound sadness and pride, revisited grief and condolement. There is no single answer to what emotions this day rends out of families who have lost loved ones in the service of the nation.

Some families may not feel fully appreciated of their sacrifices, as Memorial Day is too often defined as a day to honor those who died on the field of battle. It is that, certainly, and no amount of remembrance can ever recompense that sacrifice. However, Memorial Day honors all those who gave their lives in defense of the nation.

Service in the United State military is a hazardous occupation. Even when not engaged in active conflict, the Armed Forces place young men and women in hazardous geographical locations, operating massive and deadly machines, and training in the most realistic environments in as close to combat conditions as possible.

The fine lines between safe and unsafe behaviors, between approved and expedited procedures, and between realistic training and mitigated risk are often paper-thin.

It is right so. Only through such a close relationship between safe and unsafe can the military adequately prepare to be victorious in battle. The last twelve months have proven the value of such an approach. But it is not without cost.

On this Memorial Day attention is drawn to those, who in times of peace, lost their lives in the defense of the nation.

What follows is a brief description of three such young servicemen. The short synopsis of their deaths is simply to remind that taking the oath of enlistment is sacrifice. For some families that becomes the ultimate sacrifice when a loved one does not come home at the end of their enlistment.

The military services operate with approved procedures. Most of these procedures have been produced over the course of 200+ years of experience. Some of these procedures have been written in blood.

The purpose of these examples is not to cast blame. It must be noted however, that each case involved violation of standard operating procedures.

Case one. While deployed overseas as a Chief Petty Officer (CPO) on the flight deck of a frigate, the CPO was the most experienced on the flight deck. He had lived with the hazards of his profession for years, guiding a helicopter down to land on a pitching ship.

This night, having just successfully guided a Navy helicopter down to the deck, the CPO stepped directly toward the front of the helicopter and into the arc of the spinning rotor blades. He was killed instantly.

Was he rushing to correct an unsafe condition? Did he misinterpret the position of the helicopter? Did he suffer a medical emergency? No one will ever know.

Case two. Conducting a transfer of an Abrams M1 tank across a large harbor overseas, a young Marine was detailed to ride inside the tank and keep the tank’s brakes engaged. The plan was to carry the tank across the harbor on a Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCAC) vehicle.

The tank was loaded and the Marine boarded into the driver’s seat. Unbeknownst to him, the tank’s brakes would not function unless the engine of the tank was running. Contrary to standard procedure, the tank was not chained-down to the deck of the LCAC.

As the LCAC accelerated across the harbor, the tank rolled off the aft end of the LCAC and sank to the bottom of the harbor. The young Marine drowned.

Case three. At a major naval base stateside, the ships in port were conducting a competition on which crew could launch their small boat quickest. The quick and efficient exercise of deck evolutions (such as launching small boats) was a matter of pride between crews.

On this particular morning the deck crew was scrambling to launch their Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB). RHIBs are housed on a multi-ton keel rest which had to be lowered before the boat could be extended beyond the side of the ship.

An over-ambitious young sailor took a shortcut from his usual station to move to a second position on the boat deck. As he moved, he passed under the keel rest as it was lowered. The keel rest crushed him to death.

These tragic episodes are not offered as gruesome descriptions, but simply as reminders that the sacrifices we honor on Memorial Day can strike even in the most peaceful of times.
These sacrifices are just as real, just as costly, and just as worthy of our remembrance as any.