'The monument is not a reward, but our debt.'

 [Editor's note: A beautiful letter to the editor defending The South's Defenders Memorial Monument from the Aug. 9, 2020 edition of the American Press newspaper of Lake Charles, La.]

Monuments in memory of fallen soldiers should stand

The monument is not a reward, but our debt. As a young boy traveling the highways and byways on family vacations, a Civil War battlefield or cemetery was often an intentional stop or the main vacation objection. My parents, having grown up during World War II, were patriotic. They instilled in us honor and respect for those that died for our country and compassion for all involved.

I remember driving up to the battlefields/cemetery entrances hearing the gravel crush under the tires of Dad’s old Ford Fairlane, and dust rolling through the open windows. The Confederate flags and Union flags always greeted us with a silky wave and ushered us into a sea of headstones and monuments that towered over the fight fields. The jovial vacation mood was toned down, akin to entering an empty church — honor and respect. As we walked these hollowed grounds, our parents explained to us that these men fought here for what they thought was right, both Union and Confederate, and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, fighting on the land that we all call home — not in some foreign land, but right here. We were taught to have compassion for all, regardless of which flag they served under; for they were all children of God and we should never forget their sacrifices.

Let’s roll forward to 2020. All around the country, Confederate monuments are being taken down. It wouldn’t matter if they were Union monuments. No monuments in memory of fallen soldiers should ever be taken down. Even in my hometown, Lake Charles is threatening to remove it’s only Confederate, or Civil War, monument.

What a different age from only 50 years ago when I walked my first Civil War battlefield/cemetery. It’s like fast-forwarding from peaceful Mayberry to murderous Chicago — no comparison. What has society become, to think that they need to rid themselves of a historical monument because it doesn’t align itself with what they believe, although at least one-half the population does believe in its reason for standing. It’s our history regardless of which flag you fly.

President Calvin Coolidge echoed my sentiments when he stood before a Confederate cemetery monument and said, “On this day we pause in memory of those who made their sacrifices in one way (Union). In a few days we shall pause again in memory of those who made sacrifices in another way (Confederate). They were all Americans, all contending for what they believed were their rights. On many a battlefield they sleep side by side. Here in a place set aside for the resting place of those who have performed military duty, both make a final bivouac. But their country lives. The bitterness of conflict is passed. Time has softened; discretion has changed it. Your country respects you for cherishing the memory of those who wore the grey. You respect others who cherish the memory of those who wore the blue. In that mutual respect may there be a firmer friendship, a stronger more glorious Union.”

I cherish my childhood memories. I appreciate that my parents taught me a love of God and country. I’m glad that I got to walk the battlefields where brave men fell and lost their lives for what they believed. I pray that God will protect our country from the ones that want to destroy our history and ruin all that God blessed us with and that which our forefathers fought for. May we never forget.

Jefferson Davis once said, “Should it be asked, why then build this monument? The answer is, they (the Confederate dead) do not need it, but prosperity may. It is not their reward, but our debt.”

Kurt Courville

Lake Charles