And if that is proving to be too difficult for some, then at least let each of us make the most strenuous effort to distance ourselves from what destroys from the inside. Let us not be so boorish of attitude, so callous in convictions, that even the fateful destiny of these five does not pierce us deeply in a different way, a way like never before. It will be the measure of our manhood and nationhood what we stand for now that the bugles are summoning, amidst the muffled roll of drumbeats timed to express the pain within, the whisper of slowly marching feet that displays our pride in our heroes, our brothers, our now renowned martyrs. It is too easy to quote or paraphrase Winston Churchill, and we have gotten too fluent in such props. We did not make our enemies they made us into what suits the impulses of ambition that must be defeated. No corporal or private less inspired in this hour of national travail, of the national call, of the national commitments that each and every Guyanese will now have to make. This is the jarring, bludgeoning reality of ‘not a blade of grass.’ They carried the Guyana standard, and held it aloft. I pray that the distinction with which they served and gave so dutifully of themselves will be mine too, will be what is cherished by all Guyanese. They left with their shields, and they return most honorably, most gloriously on their shields. Like the mothers of the Spartans of old, we must be strong and stoic in this pain of grief. Oh, beautiful Guyana, Oh my lovely native land…. These five, these falling from the stormiest of skies, these five now rising up to meet the gleaming canopy of a sky where they each will live forever among the stars watching over Guyana, the legends of Guyana. Though now fallen, they stood tall in national duty. They stood for us in the crashing turbulences of a place so vast and deep and now sadly deadly. Gary Beaton, Michael Shahoud, Michael Charles, Sean Welcome, Jason Khan laid all on the line, so that we can go on with hope in our heart, and courage in our step. This discernment must come now if not, it may never come at all. It must also stir.Īs Guyanese we are in a different time, one like never before. Out of their sacrifice of what could be for a better Guyana, a Guyana for the ages that is one of tomorrow, “a terrible beauty is born.” William Butler Yeats’ timeless poignant outpouring spills and shrouds. I petition for the longest moment of individual silence in solemn recognition of our war dead, the first five in what could be a pantheon of the heroic dedicated to the ultimate that is called for in this hour of hurting, this time of test. May the torn spirits of our existence, now inscribed in blood and loss, be refreshed by the supreme sacrifices of brothers Gary, Michael and Michael, Sean, and Jason. Yes, may the battlefields that torment our minds be stilled if only, for one hallowed moment. With malice towards none, and charity towards all. Let us have the strength and the courage and the wisdom to pause and pay tribute to these five sons of Guyana, our newest legends.
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