great sacrifices to perform it. What gives men like these peculiar
distinction is not merely that they did their duty, but that their duty
had nothing to do with them or their own personal and peculiar
interests. They did not give their lives for themselves. They gave their
lives for us, because we called upon them as a Nation to perform an
unexpected duty. That is the way in which men grow distinguished, and
that is the only way, by serving somebody else than themselves. And what
greater thing could you serve than a Nation such as this we love and are
proud of? Are you sorry for these lads? Are you sorry for the way they
will be remembered? Does it not quicken your pulses to think of the list
of them? I hope to God none of you may join the list, but if you do you
will join an immortal company.

So, while we are profoundly sorrowful, and while there goes out of our
hearts a very deep and affectionate sympathy for the friends and
relatives of these lads who for the rest of their lives shall mourn
them, though with a touch of pride, we know why we do not go away from
this occasion cast down, but with our heads lifted and our eyes on the
future of this country, with absolute confidence of how it will be
worked out. Not only upon the mere vague future of this country, but
upon the immediate future. We have gone down to Mexico to serve mankind
if we can find out the way. We do not want to fight the Mexicans. We
want to serve the Mexicans if we can, because we know how we would like
to be free, and how we would like to be served if there were friends
standing by in such case ready to serve us. A war of aggression is not a
war in which it is a proud thing to die, but a war of service is a thing
in which it is a proud thing to die.

Notice how truly these men were of our blood. I mean of our American
blood, which is not drawn from any one country, which is not drawn from