America celebrated Memorial Day this past weekend, where we paid tribute to all who served and died in battle.
While Memorial Day has come to symbolize the unofficial start of summer, it’s true meaning amazingly never really seems to get lost.
The holiday, originally known as Decoration Day, was initially an occasion for people to decorate the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers who lost their lives during the Civil War.
The idea was to honor the fallen, regardless of what side they were on or what uniform they wore. It was an opportunity to recognize their sacrifice.
As I drove in my car yesterday, I heard the word sacrifice mentioned time and time again in radio commercials wishing listeners a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend, as in, “Wishing you a safe and happy holiday and saying thank you to all of our military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
People still appreciate the sacrifice associated with Memorial Day.
Recently, I was at a book festival promoting by books, when I met a man who shared the most fascinating story with me about a group of World War II soldiers.
As he approached my table, I asked him if he knew of any good teammates—a question I often ask of people I meet. His response was a little different than what I typically get.
The man, probably in his early sixties, said, “Yes, sir. The Wereth Eleven.”
My interest was piqued.
For the next several minutes he recounted to me the story of the sacrifice of the Wereth Eleven.
During the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, the Germans attacked the 106th Division near the Belgium-German border. Supporting the 106th Division was the 333rd Field Artillery Battalion, an all-black unit.
The 106th Division was overwhelmed in what would be one of the worst defeats suffered by Allied forces during the entire war. Most of the 333rd were killed during the battle. However, eleven of the soldiers from that unit were able to escape.
They walked through miles of deep snow until they came upon the small Belgium hamlet of Wereth. There a family took them into their home and gave them warm food and shelter. It was a dangerous move for the family to harbor the Americans.
When the Nazis eventually arrived at Wereth, the eleven soldiers vowed to protect the Belgium family who had extended kindness towards them. Sadly, however, their surrender was not accepted and they were brutally tortured and killed by the Germans.
The story of the Wereth Eleven would go untold for nearly 50 years, until a man named Hermann Langer made it his life’s mission to see that the truth of the war crimes committed against the eleven soldiers was brought to light.
You see, Hermann was the 12-year old son of the Belgium man who offered shelter to the eleven soldiers on that cold December day in 1944.
He never forgot the sacrifice the soldiers made for his family. Had they been too cowardly to face the fate that awaited them and not surrendered, the Germans would have most certainly killed the entire family who harbored them.
You would be challenged to make an argument that our military personnel are anything but good teammates. They make a tremendous sacrifice every day, so that the rest of us—their teammates—can have freedom.
That is what good teammates do. They make sacrifices.
The hard part is that sometimes it seems that those sacrifices go unappreciated or even unnoticed. But that shouldn’t make a difference. Good teammates don’t make good teammate moves (like sacrifices) because they have an expectation of receiving the beneficiary’s gratitude. They make them because it is the right thing to do and because it is best for the team.
If you enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend, then make an effort to find a way to honor someone who made a sacrifice for you by paying it forward and making a no-strings-attached sacrifice for someone else.
As always…Remember: Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
