Hold the line Published May 20, 2009 By Col. Gary Goldstone 375th Airlift Wing commander SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- On the eve of Memorial Day, it is with renewed admiration that I offer up a few words in memory of those who fought desperately, led valiantly and died honorably for the cause of a united nation. No prose that is written will ever capture the moments or truly do justice to the American heroes who for centuries have held the line against invading enemies, even when those enemies were their brothers. After spending several days in Gettysburg recently, walking its hallowed ground and studying the events of July 1-3, 1863, it was again clear to me that the Union army prevailed directly and solely because of leadership at all levels of command and the loyalty of the men who followed those leaders. There is not enough time to go into detail about the events of those three days--that must be left to individual study. But there is time to acknowledge a few key observations. Gettysburg was not a planned engagement. The 75,000-strong Confederate army was in search of supplies near the small town in Pennsylvania when the 95,000-strong Union army saw them, pursued them, and thus began a battle that would end up wounding and killing a staggering 50,000 men. Gen. Robert E. Lee was confident his Confederate men could take Maj. Gen. George Meade's Union soldiers, but he did not know those Union soldiers would fight like demons to control--and maintain--the high ground. Nor did he count on their singular and defining acts of bravery that enabled them to hold the line and ultimately turn the tide of the war. General Meade, having taken command just four days prior, had on his side men who did not hesitate to act when called upon to perform their duty. They held back Confederate soldiers, which cost them their lives. They saw weak openings in their defenses and rallied immediately, on their own initiative, to provide cover. In just one advance, 200 of the 262 men from the 1st Minnesota regiment lost their lives as they charged a Confederate brigade to fill in a gap. Those lives were gone in 15 minutes, but it bought precious time for the Union army. In a battle where seconds count, their fame was bought with their blood ... and the line held. Probably the most famous event occurred on that third day when the Confederate army marched from Seminary Ridge in parade dress formation to launch the famous, heroic attack upon the Union center, forever immortalized in history as Pickett's Charge. The Confederate objective was a small clump of trees, one mile away across an open field. Once the smoke from a previous cannonade (that missed the Union soldiers) cleared, it is said that "Union forces watched their soon to be combatants in awe. They admired the intense patriotism and desperate dedication of the men before them. Still, once within range, the Union artillery hit and mowed down the columns of men like blades of grass ... A small number of Confederate forces reached the small clump of trees in their determination and held the land for a brief period of time." But, the Union leaders refused to leave the field until they knew the charge was repelled. Artillery work from the officers devastated the Confederate lines as they approached the stone fence that marked the blue line. A general rallied the men while another officer led a decisive counterattack against the few Rebels that penetrated the Federal line. It took decisive and correct decisions that day, which had to be executed immediately and properly. The best battle plan is nothing without the action of those to carry out the work. The men who fought at Gettysburg were daring souls who thought more upon their nation and their liberty than they did themselves. The places such as Culp's Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Valley of Death, Devils Den and Little Round Top are only famous now because of a nation that refused to forget what was done there to save the union. That is why President Lincoln's address is befitting for this Memorial Day and always. As he states: "The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain --that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom --and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." They will not have died in vain as long as we remember them and continue to hold the line against all enemies--foreign or domestic.