May 30,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Council Elect Ramon M Hache , Today we honor the brave men and women who have proudly served this great nation and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We should honor them everyday, as well as their families, by loving and respecting the greatest nation in the world. As I do every Memorial Day, I like to read, reflect upon, and share the letter of condolences from President Abraham Lincoln to Mrs. Lydia Bixby who was believed to have lost five sons during the Civil War:
Executive Mansion
Washington, Nov. 21, 1864.
Dear Madam,–
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln
Thank you Ramon for your heartfelt thoughts and for stepping up to serve our Village. Looking forward to seeing you on the dais soon.