Disclaimer:  I voted for McCain (yes, it seemed like a lesser-of-two-evils vote. I would do it again, knowing the alternative).  I support – with my vote – a conservative agenda for government.

I’m not loudly political, but occasionally I do write to my Representative in Washington, D.C. or other federal officials.  This morning I felt moved enough to write to Speaker of the House Boehner (contact him here), regarding the funeral arrangements of Frank Buckles, the last American WWI veteran, who just passed away.  According to Daily Kos and NationalJournal.com, Speaker Boehner has decided against allowing the body of Frank Buckles to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda (here’s a list of those who have been honored this way).  I happen to think it would be a grand way of honoring not only Buckles, but also his comrades and fellow heroes who served with distinction.  Below is a copy of my note to Speaker Boehner regarding this matter.

What are your thoughts?

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Dear Mr. Speaker,

I recently read an article that indicates that you are unwilling to allow the body of Frank Buckles, the last US veteran of World War I, to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

Wouldn’t this be a moment to celebrate a now-passed generation, those men and women upon whose hard-working shoulders we have stood for more than eighty years?  Wouldn’t this be the time to reinvigorate our sense of national sacrifice, paralleling it to the honorable service of Mr. Buckles?  If Americans truly are a people who rise to the challenge, why not challenge us to live up to the legacy of our forefathers?  Mr. Speaker, I do not ask you to give us a hero, for Mr. Buckles – and countless others alongside him – have already done that on battlefields, in classrooms, from church pulpits, in laboratories, in backrooms, around dining room tables, and in the halls of government.  As they have given of themselves, they have become hero material.  I ask you, Sir, to honor the memory and life of this one hero, as representative of an entire generation of heroes.

Mr. Speaker, please reconsider your position regarding Mr. Buckles’ funeral arrangements.

Sincerely yours,

Levi Sisemore,
Floydada, Texas