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(The following editorial was originally printed in the May 26, 2005. Tomah Journal.)

As Allied soldiers swept toward Germany during the final year of World War II, the difference between the Western and Eastern fronts couldn’t have been more stark.

On the Western front, American-led forces occupied French and German communities and treated civilians and German prisoners of war with an unprecedented degree of wartime humanity.

On the eastern front, Soviet soldiers rolled into Germany and committed grotesque and unpunished atrocities against both soldiers and civilians.

It’s a profound contrast, and one that Americans may not fully appreciate.

As a grateful citizenry gathers Monday for Memorial Day commemorations, speakers will talk about how soldiers died to guarantee our freedom.

That’s true, but it’s also incomplete. American soldiers have a legacy of decency that is independent of liberty. When American soldiers liberated Paris, Manila and Kuwait City, citizens cheered not because they suddenly gained freedom of speech; they cheered because they knew the German, Japanese and Iraqi atrocities would stop. The thought of free elections in two years was likely the furthest thing from the minds of the liberated. (It’s worth noting that during last January’s elections in Iraq, turnout ranged from almost universal in areas where order had been established to 10 percent in Mosul, where terror remains a daily fact of life.)

The reputation of the decent American soldier is more than a source of pride, it’s also a flak jacket (Germans had far more incentive to fight to the death against the Russians than against the Americans). Every degrading photo from the infamous Abu Grahib prison and every report of tortured or humiliated terror suspects (true or untrue), rips a chunk from that flak jacket and makes American soldiers more vulnerable. Rush Limbaugh may believe he’s supporting American soldiers by comparing events at Abu Grahib to a fraternity prank, but he actually harms our soldiers by trashing America’s reputation as a nation that abides by the very highest standards of human behavior.

By historical standards, the photographed abuses at Abu Grahib and allegations that the Koran was mishandled are relatively tame. By American standards, however, they leave us shocked and appalled. As we commemorate Memorial Day, it’s right to express gratitude for soldiers who died not just for the cause of freedom, but for the belief that there are things human beings should never do to each other. It’s equally right to insist that our standards never change.