do we understand enemies?

reflection on Memorial Day

I asked my husband whether he wanted to go over to the Academy grounds with me this weekend as I wanted to photograph the lush green of the late spring. He demurred because he has been writing rather intensely this week so I headed off late morning.

Your Naval Academy is a fixture within Annapolis as the grounds, built on landfill (thus subject to seawater rising but that is a different column), form the eastern boundary of the town as Spa Creek merges with the Severn River which then empties into the Chesapeake just south of Annapolis.

Looking along the edge of the grounds, I got a terrific view of a full harbour (I refer to it as the outer Annapolis Harbour since it’s outside of the bridge across Spa Creek) yesterday. A new ‘pirate’ boat to take kids around the harbour showed the commercial success that the town has even for youngster.

I walked by the Levy Chapel, an elegant, modern structure for Jewish midshipmen. The spring buds in that area were long gone but the architecture reminded me that the Academy is a place of change mirroring the remainder of America (as it should be): when Uriah Levy served as the first Jewish commodore in the nineteenth century, the idea of a dedicated Jewish house of worship was impossible on Academy grounds yet through efforts across the generations, it opened in 2005. Levy earned respect from many for not flogging those on his ship.

From there, I walked towards the main Chapel, a grand dome which underwent major cleaning several years ago to reveal its majesty. The grounds en route were largely empty except for small groups of tourists. The Midshipmen I did see were engaged in P.T., or physical training, of some sort since the physical fitness demands remain a major obstacle for many hoping to enter military service in this era of Oreos and Doritos. It was a splendid morning to be out.

I walked further north towards the bridge crossing one of the smaller creeks running through the campus. There is a lovely wooden bridge that I enjoy walking because it seems to quaint in the middle of this campus focusing on such high tech challenges which wood probably doesn’t solve.

On the other side of the bridge, I actually reached my intended destination. In truth, I had to visit Senator McCain this Memorial Day weekend.

I never met him nor did I vote for him. But John McCain, contrary to all of the hate-mongering against him since 2015, was a remarkable man. Son and grandson of four star admirals, McCain majored in partying and demerits when a student here, graduating fifth from the bottom of the Brigade of Midshipmen in 1958. Yet he became a naval aviator before a Republican Representative, then Senator from Arizona.

McCain was remarkable for two particular reasons to me. One was genuine patriotism. Not just that he served in the military, something so uncommon that it merits mention today. John McCain became a prisoner of war with significant injuries when the North Vietnamese downed his A-4E Skyhawk in October 1967. McCain had fractures to both arms and a leg before his ‘rescuers’ attacked his shoulder with a rifle to inflict further excruciating pain. Vietnamese authorities tortured McCain (and his fellow captives) over the more than five years he was held.

Whatever John McCain’s many failings, documented in books praising and demeaning him, he refused offers to leave Hanoi because his father was in charge of U.S. Pacific Command. The prisoner McCain refused to abandon those with less lofty names or connections. He endured beatings rather than renege on the Code of conduct which prohibits military personnel from accepting easier treatment than their peers. That choice alone made John McCain a patriot above others yet today is mocked as if everyone takes the easier route. McCain, released with 108 other PoWs in 1973, suffered for his country because he refused to abandon those who held with him. He was not my definition of a sucker.

I also went to see John McCain for another reason yesterday.

His burial site on the grounds of the Academy is next to his best friend, Charles Larson. A fellow classmate in 1958, Chuck Larson was McCain’s father’s successor several times removed as Commander of U.S. Pacific Command. I never knew Larson either but had heard long before either man’s death that they had requested adjacent spots in the cemetary.

Chuck Larson and John McCain tell an invaluable tale for 2024, however, that I wanted to highlight. Larson’s last prominence before his 2014 passing was as Kathleen Kennedy Townsend’s unsuccessful Democratic running mate for Maryland Lieutenant Governor in 2002. Larson also supported Howard Dean in the 2004 presidential campaign, serving as a foreign policy advisor to the Vermont Democrat.

John McCain and Chuck Larson, two incredibly successful graduates and citizens, did not allow their friendship to deteriorate into personal animosity based on partisan affiliation. Remarkable today is the depth of hatred emanating from one’s voting preferences while these two men, having weathered far greater challenges than the overwhelming majority of us, retained their mutual respect, affection, and ultimate decision to accept their final resting spots next to one another. What a tribute to America so lacking in our current environment. I had to see it again as a sign of hope for our future.

John McCain was one of thousands of Americans who attended this Academy and the millions who served our nation both proudly and honourably. He chose not to leave behind the ‘little people’ who had none of the prominent outs he could have taken. He was not perfect nor did I agree with some of his policy prescriptions. But his overall behaviour was as patriotic and honourable as anyone I can think of on the political scene today. We should on Memorial Day celebrate his commitment to this country—like the millions who have given their all for us. Death is ultimate; there is no coming back for any of them.

I walked back to my car, thinking of those who serve us and have given so much. I can’t speak for any of you but I can thank each and every one of them because we are so lucky. We cannot take that for granted by judging folks on their political affiliations rather than behaviour or commitment to protect all Americans.

I stopped at a shop nearby on the way home. I did not snap a picture, because I was in a rush, but a car near mine had a bumper sticker full of serendipity: The other party is not the enemy. No, it’s not. John McCain and Chuck Larson understood enemies but do all of us?

Who are you remembering this day? Who embodies your understanding of patriotism and why? I genuinely want to hear from you.

Thank you for your time. Please circulate this column if you find it of value. Thank you to the subscribers who motivate me to write daily.

We are the luckiest people in the world because of those who have given their all. Be well and be safe. FIN