Ultimate sacrifice
Save divisiveness for Tuesday; today remember those who gave their lives on our behalf
“America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels.” — Claudia Pemberton “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
It’s the unofficial kickoff to summer, but, more importantly, Memorial Day is the holiday set aside to honor the hundreds of thousands of American service members who have died in battle throughout the globe protecting our nation and its freedoms.
It’s a solemn day for families who have lost loved ones in conflicts in far-flung places — Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Korea, Europe, Japan, the Philippines, Pearl Harbor — and closer to home. But it’s also a day to celebrate each of these heroes and to send a prayer of thanks to them and their families for the enormous sacrifices they made for their country and for each of us.
People have been paying tribute to their war dead for thousands of years, but Memorial Day officially began 150 years ago.
Originally dubbed Decoration Day, this holiday was established to create a national unified celebration to honor those from both armies of the American Civil War. The first national Decoration Day was held on May 30, 1868. The holiday became known as Memorial Day by the late 19th century and honored the deceased of all wars fought by U.S. service members. It became a federal holiday in 1971 and is celebrated on the last Monday in May.
America is divided right now. We’ve got Republicans feuding with Democrats. Trump supporters at war with Trump critics. Immigrant rights advocates clashing with those who want our nation to take a tough stance against illegal immigration.
But none of that should matter today. Today should be about the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Whether we support the wars or other military conflicts that claimed these service members’ lives is irrelevant. The bottom line is that these are men and women who answered their country’s call and who laid down their lives for their country, and for that we are eternally in their debt.
The New York-based Memorial Day Foundation, citing Department of Defense data, says more than 42 million men and women have served our country during wartime since our nation’s birth. Of those, more than 1.2 million never made it home.
According to the foundation, those deaths include: 4,435 in the Revolutionary War 2,260 in the War of 1812 1,000 in the Indian Wars 13,283 in the Mexican War 364,511 fighting for the North in the Civil War 199,110 fighting for the South in the Civil War 2,446 in the Spanish American War 4,273 in the Philippines insurrection 116,516 in World War I 405,399 in World War II 36,574 in the Korean War 58,209 in Vietnam 382 in the Persian Gulf War 2,352 in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan
4,425 in Operation Iraqi Freedom In the words of President Lincoln, it’s up to us to make sure that these heroes did not die in vain and that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
So while many enjoy picnics and barbecues and a much-deserved day off today, everyone should be sure to take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices that our nation’s heroes have made and continue to make for each of us.