by Capt. John Rasmussen

        EAGLE BASE, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Army News Service, May 22, 2002)
-- It was raining "cats and dogs" and I was late for physical training.
        Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, Ky., and was moving way too
slowly.  I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more
impatient.
        The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove,
the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash,
the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101st Airborne
Division (Air Assault).
        Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been
placed in the ground next to each soldier's memorial plaque.
        My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck,
getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time.
        All of a sudden, infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting
started again, the car in front of me stopped.
        A soldier, a private of course, jumped out in the pouring rain and
ran over toward the grove.
        I couldn't believe it!  This knucklehead was holding up everyone for
who knows what kind of prank.  Horns were honking.
        I waited to see the butt-chewing that I wanted him to get for making
me late.
        He was getting soaked to the skin.  His BDUs were plastered to his
frame.  I watched-as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques, picked up the
small American flag that had fallen to the ground in the wind and the rain,
and set it upright again.
        Then, slowly, he came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car,
and drove off.
        I'll never forget that incident.  That soldier, whose name I will
never know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred
books or a thousand lectures.
        That simple salute -- that single act of honoring his fallen brother
and his flag -- encapsulated all the Army values in one gesture for me.  It
said, "I will never forget.  I will keep the faith.  I will finish the
mission.  I am an American soldier."
        I thank God for examples like that.
        And on this Memorial Day, I will remember all those who paid the
ultimate price for my freedom, and one private, soaked to the skin, who
honored them.
        (Editor's note: The president has called for a "National Moment of
Remembrance" at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day with a one-minute pause to remember
those fallen in service to the country.  Capt. John Rasmussen is now a
chaplain with Multinational Division North in Bosnia.)