It Tolls for Thee
By Rep. Dusty Johnson
June 3, 2022
On Monday, I was honored to provide some remarks at the Sioux Falls Memorial Day commemoration. Memorial Day rightfully honors those who have died in service to their country, acknowledging their tremendous sacrifice.
But as I thought about those who have died, I reflected upon those they left behind. Each of them had families, friends, and neighbors. Death imposed a terrible price on the patriots who died, but not just on them.
“For Whom the Bell Tolls,” the 1940 novel by Ernest Hemingway, popularized the phrase “Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” That line is often interpreted to mean that sooner or later death comes for us all. That’s true, but it isn’t what Hemingway meant. Instead, Hemingway was reminding us that because we are interconnected to one another, the death of any of us harms all of us.
The death of each of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines leaves a hole that lasts for decades. There are Little League players they’ll never get to coach, church choirs they’ll never sing with, the girl or boy next door they’ll never marry, and the new hire at the office or factory they’ll never take under their wing. There are thousands of contributions, large and small, that their death denies to them, and to us.
The fallen men and women in uniform weren’t just war fighters or leaders-in-theater. They were also to be the leaders of so many neighborhoods here at home.
On Monday, when “Taps” played at the ceremony, I let it call to mind those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. But I also let it call to mind the countless families, worksites, churches, and communities diminished by those deaths. Our nation was made stronger by the service of those who died, but their absence leaves gaps that are hard to fill.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for all of us.
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