Beyond the Yellow Ribbon

Members and friends of Concordia —

For the better part of a year now, our congregation's weekly prayers have included a plea for God's protection for our military, and specifically for the men of A Company, 1st/506th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during combat in Afghanistan.  In effect, we at Concordia adopted the unit and its soldiers for our prayers.

This was at my request; this is the unit I served with in Vietnam 40 years ago, and such are the strong cross-generational ties in this historic regiment (the famous Band of Brothers regiment) that many of the veterans of World War II and Vietnam know and respect the officers and men now serving.  August was the last month for the prayer;  A Company came home to Fort Campbell in late summer of 2011.  Although a number of men were killed in action and many more grievously wounded, the number was relatively low given the difficulty of their mission and terrain, and the commitment and capabilities of the enemy.  We thank God for His grace; such is the calculus of today’s small-scale, high-intensity warfare that the death toll becomes an object for gratitude..

But the fact that A Company is back (for a while at least)  should not be taken to mean that the war—and the need for prayer for our soldiers and sailors—is over.  Units from the 82nd Airborne division are replacing A company, and another division – or the 101st again may in turn replace the 82nd next year.  For the men of A Company, the next couple of years may see some of them out of the army, but others will be still in uniform, reassigned to yet another obscure place in the world where America's interests demand military action.  These are tough, proud, capable professional soldiers, and they will certainly be going in harm's way again for their country.  Please, keep them all in your thoughts and prayers.  They are the face of American policy and political decisions and they deserve our support.  Americans can disagree with the decisions about going to war, but we must never again put our young men and women through the shameful treatment we subjected them to after Korea and Vietnam.

The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Project

You don't have to go as far as Fort Campbell to find young men and women in service and in danger.  National Guard units in Minnesota as well as regular Army brigades draw soldiers from our community—soldiers who serve multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Some have given their lives, and others come away with shattered bodies and minds and lives. Show your support for these people in any and every way possible, for they have earned it.

This congregation “adopted” A Company.  We may choose to do that again, or pick some other means of supporting our servicemen and -women.  But as a congregation we support all who serve our nation and defend its people and values.  We urge you to check out the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon website (http://www.btyr.org) for concrete examples of how to help our local servicemen and women. This Minnesota-grown program supporting out local military personnel is rapidly spreading nationally. If you want to become involved in this effort, please check out the website and then contact me, or call Marilyn Rothecker at 651-451-6007.