Service By Another Name

Memorial Day has always been a cause for celebration in my family. It's a day for fried chicken, a keg in the creek, bonfires, fireworks, and croquet on the lawn... Because in my "all-American" family serving your country is more than a quaint anecdote or a postcard-worthy quote. It's the flag in the yard that flies year-round, rain or shine. It's the "Service Star" hung proudly in the window, and the tearful farewells as our father marched off to war. Its the sacrifice made, not by some proud stranger on a CNN tribute, but by our own.

I am a proud Army Brat. My family has fought in every single American war since we first settled in the Shenandoah Valley as Presbyterian immigrants from Ireland in the 1600's. We helped found the United States of America with our blood, sweat, and tears, and we still defend that land today with such sacrifices. So I understand "sacrifice for country" more than most.  It's my family's legacy, and I lived it every day of my childhood that I spent praying for my own father to come home alive. So as a child, I always knew two things: I would serve my country one day, but I would never be capable of doing it with a weapon in-hand. I get teary eyed at the sound of the star-spangled banner, but war was never destined to be MY contribution to humanity. I simply don't have it in me. Yet as I sit in the mountains of Lesotho this Memorial Day, I know now that "sacrifice for country" comes in many forms.

It probably sounds ridiculous to many people, but the same values that drove my father to leave the comfort of his home and family year-after-year to defend his country, are the same values that brought me to this little corner of southern Africa. Its a connection I struggled to explain to my sometimes skeptical family and friends, when asked why I had decided to join Peace Corps. I'm not dodging bullets or fighting terrorism (on a daily basis, the scariest thing I fight is thatch spiders, rats, and scorpions. Ha!), but my work here is no less important to national security or American prosperity.

Many Americans label us as "tree-huggers," liberal "bleeding hearts," or naïve dreamers. They are wrong. I know the military. The brave Americans serving, in places like Lesotho, demonstrate a resilience, sense of service, incredible personal sacrifice, and pride of country that easily matches that of the toughest soldiers under my father's command in the US Army. We come from all walks of life: Young, old, white, hispanic, black, asian, heterosexual, homosexual, sons and daughters, grandparent's, Christian, Jewish, Agnostic, rich, poor, Republicans, and Democrats. We don't all agree politically, and we grew up under vastly different socio-economic conditions. We're not all friends. But we all share a common belief that peace-building and national security benefit the world, and that such conditions don't happen miraculously. They take decades of work in the form of a million tiny, seemingly insignificant steps in the right direction by teachers, nurses, and engineers.

As Peace Corps Volunteers, we don't fight people but we do fight. We battle poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, starvation, indifference, and ignorance on "front-lines" around the world. We live with and amongst the people we serve because we know that you can't fix a problem you don't understand and experience. Our daily presence is a reminder to the people we live with that the US government is a force of good and justice in the world. When I travel around Lesotho, I get the opportunity to meet Basotho from all walks of life- From impoverished villagers on public taxis to the Lesotho Secretary of Education that gave me  a hitch last weekend. Eight times out of 10, they tell me childhood stories about the Peace Corps(PC) teacher who taught them to read English 20 years ago, or the PC Health Volunteer who helped them dream of a future outside of their tiny, mountain village. They thank me for my service and for the kindness of my country. They speak proudly of the friendship of Americans, and tell me they dream of the kind of prosperity and wealth we have created. It is possible that one day the 163 children that I teach everyday at Linokong High School, will defend Americans and combat myths of American greed, violence, and world domination. They'll do it because they knew me, 'Me' Limpho. I am the face of America to every Basotho villager in Ha Selomo, Lesotho. I AM America in this tiny corner of the world. My daily actions defend my country to these people.


Anyone who thinks that this kind of generosity and friendship between nations comes free, has no understanding of the price that has been paid by Peace Corps Volunteers around the world. Since 1961, when President John F. Kennedy first created the United States Peace Corps, more than 280 Americans have given their lives in service to their country. That's more American lives lost in the US Peace Corps than in the entire history of the Central Intelligence Agency. Over 200,000 Peace Corps Volunteers, over the past 5 decades, have left their families and country behind. We move thousands of miles away from everything we know to live and work in foreign cultures and potentially hostile environments. Much like the military, we go where our country calls us to serve. We do so without complaints or conditions. We suffer illlnesses, accidents, and violence. We work tirelessly day and night, through overwhelming financial and physical hardships, and often in extreme isolation (in corners of the world even my "hard core" father wouldn't want to visit.) Just a few years ago, Peace Corps Lesotho lost one of our own. Tom was a health volunteer in his mid-20's. He was shot and killed on a street in Maseru (the capital city) that I now frequently walk down. Since then, two young female PCVs in Lesotho have also been victims of violent rapes. It's a risk we all assume when we join the Peace Corps. It's a reminder that this is a dangerous job. At any time it could demand the "ultimate sacrifice" from any one of us.

My mother used to tell me that no one wishes for peace more than a military family... However disparate our methods may be, the US Peace Corps and the US Military are "fighting" for the same things. We both want peace, safety, security, and prosperity for our country and the world. On a daily basis, I may be fighting teenagers to do their math homework rather than fighting terrorism, but I share a common legacy and sense of purpose with my brother, father, mother, uncle, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers.

Service to country comes in many forms. This Memorial Day, I'm thankful for ALL who serve and have served. 

With Love From Lesotho... -Mary E.