Saturday, May 28, 2005

Remembering the Fallen

I love Memorial Day weekend, and not for the standard reasons. Sure, the three day weekend is great, and yes I love cook-outs. However, the reason I love Memorial Day is because of what it stands for, remembering the fallen who paid the price of Freedom.

There are many ways to pay for Freedom. Soldiers risk or give their lives for it. Immigrants, Pilgrims and Pioneers left everything they knew behind to help forge a nation. Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence lost their fortunes, health, and family. Firefighters, Policemen, and Paramedics take risks everyday to defend the life, liberty, and happiness of their fellow countrymen. And let us not forget the often unsung sacrifice of the family members of every soldier, policeman, paramedic and firefighters. They pay for our freedom in sleepless nights, missed birthdays, and a million memories that cannot be shared because their spouse, brother, sister, mother, or father is putting it all on the line. They deserve a special thank you and place in our hearts. The price of freedom is paid in so many ways, yet the greatest payment is that of blood.


On Memorial Day we stop to remember those who loved their country, freedom, and families more than themselves. For the past couple of years we have added to the collective list of the fallen, those who are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are a special group. While the soldiers of the past usually died on battlefields where uniformed armies clashed, the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan face an enemy with no uniform on the streets and in the shops and homes of innocent civilians. The soldiers of Vietnam experienced this horror. And like the soldiers of the past, often they are more than patriots.

To be a patriot is a truly noble thing, but to love the liberty of others requires a special devotion. Our history is full of men and women who not only died for the freedom of their people but for the freedom of foreigners. From the Nazis to the modern global villain, the Islamo-fascist, our finest are giving their lives for the freedom of other to secure a world where the freedom of their loved ones is not in jeopardy.

From the minute men to the fallen soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, let us taken this Memorial Day weekend to remember why we are able to barbecue and swim. We are free not only because this country has no short supply of Patriots, but also because we have more than a few who will give it all for the freedom of others. Thank you. Thank you for sacrifice, your devotion, and your love.