By most accounts, it was not a just war. Unlike World War II, no convincing justification can be offered for the lives lost from 1914-1918. Brown and red were colors, not enemy ideologies invading and crushing concepts of democratic freedom and individual liberty. So there is more to remembering that great conflict which so blackly ushered in the 20th century. He has a plea for those who have little memory or knowledge of the Great War.
War can be one of the most dehumanizing experiences that humans have had.
I think as Christians we have a special responsibility to remember what seems to have come out of such efforts, but also what incredible suffering has gone into them for good or ill. Perhaps no perspective on war can carry with it the same legitimacy as what a veteran has to say. However, few World War I veterans are still alive, none of whom are on campus. Even so, several people on campus served in Vietnam. Charles Strikwerda, another Political Science professor, served as a chaplain's assistant in the 101st Airborne Division in 1970.