May 25, 2026
Hello Members and Friends of the Association,
Memorial Day Salute from BG (R) Joseph Shaefer (SF Chapter 76 member)
Memorial Day is not merely the beginning of summer. It is not just a 3-day weekend by act of Congress, and not just the time we fire up the barbecue and have a picnic. It is, and should remain, a thoughtful time. It is a time to consider our own lives and to honor others who are now gone.
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Veterans Day in the United States is a celebratory time, a time for Veterans to pause and remember, and a time for all others to honor those who defended the nation, whether on the front lines of ground warfare, in the skies above, at sea, or anywhere else where veterans serve, even if from thousands of miles away. Memorial Day is different. It is not merely the beginning of summer. It is not just a 3-day weekend by act of Congress, and not just the time we fire up the barbecue and have a picnic. It is, and should remain, a thoughtful time. It is a time to consider our own lives and to honor others whose names we might not even know. Veterans, on this day especially, remember those who died too young. We honor those we served with who are, fortunately, still alive. For the rest of the nation, it started as a decoration of the graves of those who gave “their last full measure of devotion.” The US seldom fought alone. We Americans sometimes do our share of chest-thumping, with those who never served most often in the forefront of such pomposity. “We’re #1!” they shout. “America for Americans!” -- as if almost all of us did not have forebears that came from somewhere else. Many times, we have been #1. But if #2 wasn’t on our right flank and #3 wasn’t on our left flank, we might not be here today. Our friends and allies have fought alongside us for as long as any of us have been alive. From World War I to World War II to Korea, to Vietnam, to Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran today, and many lesser-known conflicts in between, there have been Allies and Friends alongside us. General Eisenhower understood the essential value of friends and allies. His was a heavy burden. He had to command as many failures as successes before and after D-Day. On that fateful day, it fell to him to decide who the most battle-hardened troops were from sea, air, and land. Charles de Gaulle, who had represented Free France from London, lobbied hard that France was a major power and deserved recognition. But the French had no seasoned military at that point. Instead, Ike decided that the assault on Normandy would be: Americans on the right flank at Utah and Omaha beaches. British on the left flank at Sword Beach. British & Canadians to hold the vital center at Gold and Juno Beach.
Normandy Tourisme Without each of them doing the work that day demanded, there would have been far more wounded and dead lying on those godforsaken beaches. In the months that followed, these three Allies and Friends, augmented by the military and resistance forces of the nations they liberated, fought and died together. I have thus far spoken of the national level, or of the Corps and Army levels of ground warfare. But very few of us were engaged at that level in our short or long careers. Let us now think of Groups and Teams. That’s where the lives are most in danger. With Allies and Friends moving forward an inch at a time together, here is a prime example of how we met as Groups and Teams, fought together, and succeeded at the tip of the spear: The First Special Service Force was a group of some 1,800 integrated Canadians and Americans whose reputation for unconventional warfare, commando raids, and fierce fighting made them so feared by Nazi forces that the Germans dubbed them the “Devil’s Brigade.” This small union of men so distinguished themselves in North Africa, Italy, and France that they were ultimately awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal for their extraordinary service – Canadians as well as Americans. Six years later, in Korea, a group of Canadians and Americans outnumbered 10 to 1, called in artillery from allied New Zealanders all the way to within feet of their own positions. Many died at the hands of the Chinese enemy, but not nearly as many if any of those three allies had not been there for each other. They were all awarded the US Presidential Unit Citation.
Imperial War Museums My first, but certainly not last, experience working with US allies came early in my military career. I deployed with the 10th Special Forces Group (Green Berets) to US ally Norway to train with their Spesialstyrker (Special Forces). Later, I became the CO of a Special Forces A-Team (now called an Operational Detachment-Alpha—ODA). It doesn’t matter what it is called; the point was then and is today, it is not just an A-Team, but “a Team.” I could easily review each war since Korea and document members of the Teams and Groups of Allies and Friends who made the ultimate sacrifice, believing in the same desire to oppose tyranny that United States military men and women have done and continue to do on outposts around the world every day.
Wars of the World Instead, I offer only this small suggestion. This Memorial Day 2026, set aside just one minute, 60 seconds, for a break from what you are doing to remember and respect their sacrifice on this one day we have set aside to remember the Fallen. Americans, of course. But if you believe the world’s democracies will always be set upon by autocrats and terrorists, then Remember and Respect those in the free world who have fought and died in each other’s arms so we may today live as free men and women. Allies and Friends, Groups and Teams, Remembrance and Respect. © 2026, Joseph L. ShaeferJoe Pruett on behalf of Ed Pijuan President
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