In a field of smoke, looking at the sky, their light succumbs to blackness.

In a trench, staring at a compatriot, longing that all will be ok, blackness comes.

On a beach, squinting through webs of blood, searing thoughts of a wife, a girlfriend.

Family.

Then again, the call of blackness.

In this darkness, born of sacrifice, the blood of patriots forges the path of freedom we all share.

Until today.

The shared colors of America are rapidly fading. The darkness faced by patriots, and the shadow of their sacrifices are dissipating into the ether.

The spirits of those soldiers who fought for our freedom are dying again. The love of and allegiance to country they sought to spread among us, is fading.

But not out of sacrifice, but of self-absorption and hate. Free speech, the rule of law, and the demise of allegiance to freedom overall, are placing our dead back into battle only to find them fading into a blackness that today, signifies nothing.

Imagine – there is no longer the warmth of sacrifice that overwhelms the cold of graves. There is no fire, just the dark, charred remains of what we were.

Oh, I’m not counting out the spirit of Americans or America completely. However, our foundation is cracked, and larger breaks are quickly appearing.

Our fire is going out.

Let us choose Memorial Day to fix them, reignite the blaze.

Let us never forget how the darkness of our past protectors feeds the light that allows us to move forward as individuals.

But most important, as a nation. An American nation.

And a family with warm candles that light the path of the souls who fought for us to exist.