What is Duty?

Memorial Day is a powerful time to reflect on a question essential to citizenship: what is duty

How often have we pondered the dimensions of duty to our nation, much less spoken about it to our children? Odds are not much – according to Google, the use of the word duty has been down 25% since 1988 (the year I joined the Army) and down by a factor of three over the last 100 years. So, it’s not surprising that in our “me-centered” culture, the concept of duty is becoming increasingly unfamiliar. Where do we look for guidance and inspiration?

Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire captivatingly illustrates how duty can transmute from obligation to honor, from a vision of the present to an investment in eternity. It’s the story of the Battle of Thermopylae and the 300 Spartans who chose to stand and die, giving Greece precious time to organize a defense against the invading Persians. I’m sure many Greeks initially acted out of what we commonly consider duty – the dictionary definition of an obligation. Or perhaps a desire to avoid shame or to fulfill the requirements of the role – soldiers are expected to fight, after all.

But surely this most elemental form of duty alone can’t explain their decision to fight to the death. Every soldier knows they’re taking a risk in war, but the Spartans knew this was a suicide mission. Why, then, did they choose to lay down their lives for their country?

This is how they transformed duty from obligation to the sublime, from an act that shaped not only their present but also spoke to ages hence. This is duty to country in its most shining and unalloyed form. Twenty-five hundred years later, we can still draw inspiration from this noble and multi-layered example of duty by serving the defense of our nation in ways large and small. After all, our freedoms stand on the foundation of our armed forces. This is the lesson of Memorial Day.

Few know that we are facing a national security crisis whose remedy lies in reinvigorating a dedication to duty among our youth. The Army missed its recruiting goals last year by about 15,000 soldiers. That’s roughly the size of one division. They’ll miss the recruiting goal again this year. Let that sink in – we’re running short one division a year when we only have ten. How many more years until our Army is too small to be effective? This major security threat is emerging just as an era of geopolitical power struggle intensifies with a totalitarian Chinese Communist foe explicitly dedicated to dominating the world order.

Just as the Spartans did in her time of need, America’s youth must step forward to serve our nation in uniform. All Americans can be part of the solution by using our voices and influence to encourage a renewed sense of duty to country across this great land. To lift, like Sparta did, a commitment to service in uniform to stand among our highest national values. Advocate for military service to your communities, to your schools, and especially to your children. From those to whom much has been entrusted, much is expected. And all Americans have been abundantly blessed. Let’s rekindle our nation’s sense of duty – it’s our honor and privilege to do so.

David Kim is a combat veteran, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and father of a son and a daughter in the U.S. Army.

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation

David is the global co-head of investor relations for Apax Partners, a leading global private equity investment firm with 7 offices across the world.  Founded in 1983, Apax is one of the world's largest private equity firms, having raised over $60 billion in capital to provide long-term equity financing to growth companies.  David has been with Apax since 2000 and is responsible for fundraising and investor services in North and South America as the firm invests its latest pool of capital which is $11 billion in size.  He has been in the private equity industry since 1994.

David is an honors graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Harvard Business School. He also served as an artillery officer in the U.S. Army where he participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989 with the 7th Infantry Division.  David is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne, Ranger, and Jungle Warfare Schools and completed the New York City Marathon and Triathlon. He is married and has four children, two of whom attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  His wife Cynthia serves as the volunteer Programs Director for Fallen Patriots.