. Cpl. Stephen Daniel wrote this letter to his parents during the Vietnam War:

August 9, 1968

Mom and Dad:
Last night one more Marine died. No one will ever hear or care about it except his parents and us. There is no nation to mourn for him or fly our flag at half mast. Yet this Marine did more for his country than any President or Senator ever did. His name was Corporal Lee Clark.

He was a good marine and a better person. He didn't deserve dying in a country not worth fightin' for. But he is dead and those back home whose freedom he was defending will never know his name.

Cpl. Lee Clark is dead but those who knew him and fought with him will never forget him. He had about 38 days left in the Marine Corps and in Viet Nam. 38 days to start living again, to see the world, and home, 38 days left and he is dead.

It makes you wonder.

The dictionary defines freedom as: The state of being free, of not being imprisoned or enslaved. A synonym is liberty. An antonym is bondage.

A week or so ago I was getting my haircut by a woman from Viet Nam. She was happy to tell me that in the upcoming week her brother and his family were finally moving from Viet Nam to the United States. They had waited for eight long years for both countries to finish the paperwork and give them the a ok to come. “I love the United States,” she told me, “because if you are patient and willing to work hard, you can achieve anything you want.”

I know I have always taken my freedom for granted. For me the Fourth of July has mostly been about summer fun and fireworks. Memorial Day, a herald for going to the beach and the ice cream man. Veteran’s Day? Merely a two word notation on the calendar. After all it can’t be an important holiday if you don’t even get out of school for it.

Moroni was talking to people like me when he wrote in Alma chapter 60 about those who sit on their thrones in a state of thoughtless stupor oblivious to the soldiers fighting and dying for freedom. Our liberty is easily taken for granted in the hustle and bustle and to do lists of everyday life.

During the American Revolution, Albigence Waldo of the
First Connecticut Infantry Regiment wrote to his family,

“December 14, 1777

People who live at home in Luxury and Ease, quietly possessing their habitation, Enjoying their Families in peace, have but a very faint idea of the continual Anxiety the man endures who is in a Camp.

What Sweet Felicities have I left at home; A charming Wife -- pretty Children -- Good Beds--good food -- good Cookery -- all agreeable -- all harmonious. Here, all Confusion -- smoke and Cold -- hunger and filthyness -- A pox on my bad luck.”

Undeniably the freedom we enjoy in the United States of America came at an enormous cost.

Harry Bott from Provo, Utah received the following letter from his father while serving during World War 1.

“Dear Son,

You have a fine little Baby Girl, she is 5 days old today and is doing well and she will be waiting for you when you return, but your dear wife has passed to the other side today. Dear Boy it is sad news - but remember God's Will not ours to be done. Now be brave and remember the Baby will want your care and attention when you come back again.

May God give you strength to bear your burden is my prayer for you.

from your Father.

Bott's father wrote to tell him the sad news: his wife had perished in the influenza epidemic of 1918-1919 soon after delivering a daughter. Bott would not see his baby girl or visit his wife's grave for another year.

Harry Bott’s sacrifice was surely part of Joseph’s vision that we can read about in 2 Nephi chapter 3 verse 5.
5 Wherefore, Joseph truly asaw our day. And he obtained a bpromise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God would raise up a crighteous dbranch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made emanifest unto them in the latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of fdarkness unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.
Mr. Bott sacrificed for the self-determination we often take for granted today. Let us not forget him.
Warrant Officer, Frank J. Conwell wrote the following to his aunt and uncle during WWII:

February 6th 1945

Hello John, Ann and all the Little Ones:
The weather has been very cold over here with plenty of snow, snow, and more snow. As I look at the kids sledding, throwing snow balls, it brings back many memories of the good times I had when I was a kid. All us lads took out our Flexible Flyers and went belly whopping down the hills. We made snow men with it and packed it into hard, round balls that caught other kids in the head and melted down the backs of their necks. When our feet got cold we would call it a day. When we were kids snow sure was fun.

There's a lot of snow on the Western Front these days and the country looks like a Christmas card. It's beautiful.

But the Flexible Flyers have turned into tanks. The snowballs are grenades. The wet stuff trickling down the back of necks is often blood. And when you're numb with cold there's no place to go to. Nothing to look forward to. Nothing but snow. Cold, wet, beautiful snow.

Hoping this letter finds you all in the best of health.

Sincerely,
Frank
I wouldn’t be surprised if Frank had prayed as Moroni did in Alma chapter 46 verse 16.
16 And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the afreedom of the land might be favored.
We now know that the western front was liberated from the Nazis and that Frank’s suffering was not in vain. Moroni’s prayers were also answered. We enjoy the freedom he sought for today. I’m grateful to Frank and Moroni and to all those who fought with them for their courage and bravery.

P. Burns wrote the following letter to Ann Maceubbin during the Civil War:

Nashville, June 10, 1861

Ann,
It makes my heart sick to think of the state of our once happy and yet beloved country . . . to see two brave armies armed with all the deadly instruments that art and wealth could procure and to think that when they meet in the bloody battlefields what destruction and misery they can produce.

What is most horrid of all in this contest is that brother will meet brother and father will meet son in the strife.

No matter what side I might take, might bring me in contact with a cousin or uncle, & god forbid that I should ever be found in arms against either.

Ann, I will be in your town by the 27th, but should I not be prompt do not despair for these are squirrelly times.

Your friend, P. Burns

Mr. Burns seems to have longed for earlier times of tranquility when brother had not taken arms against brother or father against son. Moroni felt the same longing for past times of peace when he constructed the title of liberty.

Alma 46: 12
12 And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—aIn memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
When we look at our flag I hope we remember those same valiant ideals.


1st Lt. Dean Allen wrote this letter to his wife, Joyce during the Vietnam War:

Dearest Wife,
I am out on ambush with eleven men and a medic -- after everything is set up in position I have nothing to do but think about why I am here. Why do I have to be the one to tell someone to do something that may get him blown away?

Being a good platoon leader is a lonely job. I don't want to really get to know anybody over here because it would be bad enough to lose a man -- I darn sure don't want to lose a friend. But as hard as I try not to get involved with my men I still can't help liking them, and getting close to a few. They come up and say "hey do you want to see picture of my wife or girl?"

Like I said it gets lonely trying to stay separate.

Maybe sometime I'll try to tell you how scared I am now. There is nothing I can do about it, but wait for another day to start + finish.

All my love always,
Dean

Four days later, Dean Allen stepped on a land mine and was killed

It seems Dean Allen like Moroni was a man that did not delight in bloodshed. A man who understood the price of freedom and paid with his life.


Pfc. Ernest Uno wrote the following letter to his sister Mae during WWII:

Livorno, Italy
Japanese American 442nd Regiment

Dearest Mae,
I've got a bunch of letters in my pocket that are dirty and falling apart. They keep me going until new ones come.

Being part of front line troops, we are usually the first to march thru the towns which have cost so much blood and sweat to liberate. But the people are grateful. They know that when we come, the war is over for them. As soon as we enter, we are showered with all they have to spare. What they have to give is simple but when you're tired and worn out from fighting you accept their gifts with a lump in your throat.

I know now, for certain, what we are fighting for! Our mission is to free all the nations of oppression. Give the children of this and the coming generations a chance to learn the true meaning of Freedom.

Please give my regards to the Morimotos, lots of love.

Ernest

Because of men like Ernest Uno we have freedom. The freedom to worship our God as we see fit. The freedom to meet every Sunday as a congregation and feel the Spirit of the Lord. The freedom to choose good over evil and to remember the words that Pahoran wrote to Moroni so long ago:

Alma 61:14
14 Therefore, my beloved brother, Moroni, let us resist evil, . . . that we may retain our freedom, that we may rejoice in the great privilege of our church, and in the cause of our Redeemer and our God.



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