This is a Reblog from last Memorial Day. Service to this country comes in all shapes and sizes. We were given the freedoms to participate and make a difference here at home, due to those who fought before us. We should honor these sacrifices, not just on one day that has been set aside, but in our daily lives. Exercise your freedoms with the respect & dignity they deserve.
I came across this amazing story 3 years ago and believe it should shared yet again. These men and their non-violent sacrifices should be recognized for their service at a time of war and their lifetime commitment to continue that service right here at home.
With Memorial Day approaching I would like give a well deserved nod to a group of very brave men. We rarely hear about this peaceful group, especially on holidays that memorialize war heroes, but they are heroes too. The Conscientious Objectors or CO’s as they were better known, provided services that were not combative. Non-combative rolls served this country long after the dust of the war had settled.
In my personal search for “something more” I began attending a Quaker Meeting in my area. After years of attending regularly I proudly made it official and became a Quaker. It was among this group where I first…
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Life With The Top Down 
If I can find them, I’ll get you the titles of some locally-available books on religious COs from this area. Remembrances from both world wars, they detail how COs were often brow-beaten for being cowards and not true patriots. One particular story I remember told how a group of Mennonites (Amish Lite) were dragged from their bunks in a CO camp in the middle of the night, force-marched through the forest they were supposed to build a road through to a small clearing with holes dug, and told that if the didn’t “do their patriotic duty” (enlist to go fight), that they would be filling those holes – permanently. For this particular camp, this was a standard “initiation”. 😯
When the soldiers go off to war, the country needs to be kept running. Conscientious objectors did a lot of work, and contributed to expanding the infrastructure for the post-war suburban boom. It’s a shame they were treated as sub-human and un-American.
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I liked this post then and now as well. Definitely worth a re-post.. we need more people like these men.
have a great day today !!
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I remembered this immediately. It haunted me for days and I found myself going back and finding out more about it. It warranted reposting. Thank you.
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First time I have ever read about them from this viewpoint. It is a piece of history that not many people know about. Even those these people did not fight they did serve in their own way. Very nice post and well researched.
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BEAUTIFUL AND TRUE!
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