By Linda Lee Greene
Memorial Day, May 25, 2020
When
commissioned to paint an image of Jesus, artist Leonardo da Vinci chose a young
man as his model whose beautiful face was full of innocent light and love.
Years later, the artist combed the streets of Florence in search of a man who
appeared ugly, dark, and hateful enough to use for his model of Judas, the
Great Betrayer of Jesus. Da Vinci found the perfect subject, and in response to
his request of the man that he model for the painting, the man replied, “Don’t
you recognize me, Maestro? Years ago, I was your model for your painting of
Jesus.” One can only imagine the circumstances that befell da Vinci’s
cross-starred model that had changed him so greatly, and it is a fitting
metaphor of the profound impact that life, especially deeply traumatic
life-circumstances, can have on people of every persuasion. This is especially
true of our warriors in the armed forces.
World
War II gripped the throat of humankind when I was born, and too soon afterwards,
the Korean conflict spewed its never-ending pox upon the world, followed in my
teen- and young-adult years by the Vietnam War. As I mothered my two babies,
terrifying and shocking images of American boys and their allies, as well as
innocents caught in the crossfire, being maimed and/or killed in that doomed Vietnam
conflict flashed across the screen of my television. In current times, the slaughter
rages on in the desecrated streets and countrysides of Afghanistan, Syria and
other places, and again, we cringe in horror at the carnage on our monitors and
screens.
Idealistic,
or angry, or desperate, or naïve, but nevertheless fresh-faced young people sign
up for military service and soon discover that it is a far different experience
than membership on a football squad or volleyball team. Like da Vinci’s model
for his artwork, life in the form of World War II altered greatly the men and
women of my parent’s generation, and their young brothers and sisters succumbed
to a similar fate in the Korean War. Not enough can be, or has been, said about
the horrific consequences sustained by our brave fighters in Vietnam. And today,
as our lovely young guardians walk among us on prosthetic legs, or carry their
babies in artificial arms, or cower homeless in shadowed corners lost
irretrievably to their former selves and society, adrift in incurable brain
injuries or post-traumatic stress disorders, let us pray for them; let us help
them. Let us also honor the brave warriors who never made it back home.
This
year, let us pay a special tribute to our precious armed forces veterans who
were taken from us by a silent enemy called Covid-19.©
