For the most important events in the history of “The Wall,” the memorial to Americans killed in the Vietnam War, Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff was there to offer a prayer.
And today, at another pivotal moment in American history as the nation fights the coronavirus, he returned virtually to link the two events and give a Memorial Day appeal to “unite to mourn our dead.”
In a bow to the virus, live events at the memorial were delayed until late September. But a virtual ceremony took place and Resnicoff offered a prayer of hope:
God, during this time of sickness
Even as we seek a cure for illness that infects our bodies,
we must battle hatred and injustice —
Evils that afflict our souls.
For the sake of those we recall today
And for the sake of children, generations yet unborn
We pray our wounded hearts can heal,
Our nation can be healed,
And together we can face the future
United by a dream of justice, and a time of war no more.
Resnicoff, 73, is one of Washington’s most famous rabbis. He frequently opens Congress with prayer.
In the 1960s, he was in Navy ROTC at Dartmouth College and went to Vietnam in August 1969. It was there, he said, that he met a priest who convinced him to become a rabbi.
“I have always believed in the power of prayer and the idea that words of prayer can not only touch the heart of those who hear or read them, but those words can provide a moment of perspective that, like the memorial, can change our vision,” he told us.
Back home, he joined efforts led by Jan Scruggs to build the memorial, which was highly controversial before turning into a uniting symbol.
He told Secrets, “An interesting back-fact is that my 1982 dedication prayer was the third prayer I had given for the Memorial. In 1980, I gave the prayer as we marked the site where the memorial would be, once Congress approved the idea. Fifty people attended. In 1981, I gave the prayer at the groundbreaking. One hundred people attended. Nov. 13, 1982 (Veterans Day weekend), I gave the closing prayer at the official dedication — and 150,000 people attended.”
INVOCATION, MEMORIAL DAY SERVICE, MAY 25, 2020
(Vietnam Veterans Memorial, First “Virtual” Ceremony Facebook page, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund)
Almighty God
We pray, reflect in different ways
But unite to mourn our dead,
And hope they have not died in vain.
The Civil War gave birth to Decoration Day,
A time for flags and flowers
On the graves of loved ones lost.
But new wars would see our men, our women,
Die in far-flung corners of the globe,
With graves some could not visit, some graves no one could find.
So, this new day — Memorial Day —
Became the time to honor all those lost in war.
After Vietnam
We built this Wall of healing,
To symbolize we could unite to mourn our dead.
Almighty God, during this time of sickness
Even as we seek a cure for illness that infects our bodies,
Help us battle hatred and injustice —
Evils that afflict our souls.
For the sake of those we recall today
And for the sake of children, generations yet unborn
We pray our wounded hearts can heal,
Our nation can be healed,
And together, we can face the future
United by a dream of justice and a time of war no more.
And may we say, Amen.
