Have you thought of
it, men? Here is the roster of the Navy--the list of the men, officers
and enlisted men and marines--and suddenly there swim nineteen stars out
of the list--men who have suddenly been lifted into a firmament of
memory where we shall always see their names shine, not because they
called upon us to admire them, but because they served us, without
asking any questions and in the performance of a duty which is laid upon
us as well as upon them.
Duty is not an uncommon thing, gentlemen. Men are performing it in the
ordinary walks of life all around us all the time, and they are making
great sacrifices to perform it. What gives men like these peculiar
distinction is not merely that they did their duty, but that their duty
had nothing to do with them or their own personal and peculiar
interests. They did not give their lives for themselves. They gave their
lives for us, because we called upon them as a Nation to perform an
unexpected duty. That is the way in which men grow distinguished, and
that is the only way, by serving somebody else than themselves. And what
greater thing could you serve than a Nation such as this we love and are
proud of? Are you sorry for these lads? Are you sorry for the way they
will be remembered? Does it not quicken your pulses to think of the list
of them? I hope to God none of you may join the list, but if you do you
will join an immortal company.
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