Honoring the fallen

Today, as is customary in the U.S. on Memorial Day, Americans will honor those who gave their lives fighting for their country. Flags will be placed on the graves of the fallen, taps will sound and citizens will — or at least they should — remember and say thank you. Sadly, the ultimate sacrifice is still being made. The U.S. remains involved in a conflict in Afghanistan that has continued since 2001. There, and in other violent places around the globe, U.S. men and women stand in harm’s way. Such a state of permanent yet undeclared war is not in the country’s best interest. More must be done to return the nation to a true state of peace, where conflict is a memory as opposed to a daily fact of life.

After all, this is Memorial Day. We keep in our memories the sacrifice of those who fell in combat. We should not be adding more brave men and women to their numbers; that so much conflict engulfs the globe is a tragedy of our time.

On this day, then, let us resolve to pause from shopping, hiking or the traditional barbecues or trips to the lake. Memorial Day, after all, is the traditional beginning of summer. We can still take time to honor a fallen veteran. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. Many people also fly the U.S. flag at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. These are small gestures, given the sacrifice, but they are meaningful — especially to families whose loved ones still are at risk.

At 10 a.m. today, a Memorial Day program is scheduled at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, honoring all military members who are serving or have served the nation. The keynote speaker is Ret. Col. Joseph C. Long, U.S. Marine Corps. U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall also will speak around 10:20 a.m. Last year, the senators helped secure funding for $5.7 million to build a new veterans cemetery near Fort Stanton. Currently, the state’s two national veterans cemeteries are in Santa Fe and at Fort Bayard.

Around Northern New Mexico, other events are scheduled. For many families, too, Memorial Day also is a time to visit deceased family members, cleaning graves and remembering loved ones. It is a day to pay tribute.

Our finest tribute would be finding a way to keep our service men and women safe — by bringing them home, safe and sound. Until that happens, let us honor our fallen dead.