Memorial Day 2023

No matter how you commemorate Memorial Day, please take a minute to think of why you are able to.

Forty-seven million men and women over our history put on a uniform and fought for our freedom. Many came home in coffins covered by the Stars and Stripes. On this day, and on every Memorial Day that preceded it, those fallen heroes did not and do not have the opportunity to attend a barbecue, enjoy the beach, play a round of golf, or just be with their families.

We, the beneficiaries of their heroism, do.

Today, think about this: It is the soldier, not the journalist, who gives us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the cleric, who gives us freedom of religion. It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who guarantees our right to a fair trial. And it is the soldier, not the writer or poet, who gives us freedom of speech.

All of the rights and privileges that make us what we are as a people we owe to those who fought to enable them and to preserve them. Far too many had their lives cut short because the values of the United States of America were and are a cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.

We honor them and those we lost over time on this Memorial Day. Enjoy, be safe, and remember.