A flag ceremony was held at the VFW Post 8798 in honor of veterans who gave their lives for their country.
Post Commander Elizabeth Carter issued the following statement: This Memorial Day, we come together even if only in mind and spirit to honor the many sacrifices made for our freedom. As we enjoy living in the land of the free, and the home of the brave, we must continue to remind Americans that there is no freedom without bravery, and those we honor today were brave when it counted the most.
Amid the war-torn decades we’ve endured, we take great pride in these heroes, these men and women who believe they were just doing their duty. They had strength when the situation demanded; determination when everything felt lost; devotion, courage and patriotism when others looked to them for guidance. No one ordered them to practice the most basic of human ideals, they did it because they were Americans and lived in a nation worth defending.
So many mothers and wives, husbands and fathers, extended family and friends do their duty every day to ensure their loved one is remembered. They carry on each day with pictures on mantels and mementos of a life not fully lived. They carry on understanding that their Soldier chose this life of service and thus they understood the potentiality of their death as a sacrifice for the sake of freedom. These men and women left behind, carry on their Soldier’s message; raisingup their memory like an unfurled flag. Today we also honor the families of those lost, for you bear a burden that only you can comprehend. We are grateful for the support you gave your soldier, so they could carry out the mission of protecting the rest of us.
It is our responsibility as citizens to remember the Nation’s brave fallen men and women – whether they died on foreign lands in the heat of battle or after a lifetime in the uniform of our Military. Never forget the men and women who know all too much the cost of our freedom, for their service to this country is the greatest gift of all.
Flowers, memorials and flags at half-staff, and the sad notes of TAPS, as meaningful as they are, they are not enough. What we really must do to honor their sacrifice is to live what they died for.
Live the America they died for; a country of freedom, equality, opportunity and unlimited promise. Live filled with hope, hope that what they gave us will last forever, and that freedom and opportunity will find all who seek it.
Live to preserve their legacy, educating all who believe Memorial Day is just another holiday and passing along our knowledge to the next generation so they may do the same. We must ensure that the youth of tomorrow understand the true cost of freedom.
Today, we do more than just carry on tradition dating back to 1866, when the first formal Memorial Day observances were conducted. We go beyond tradition, beyond remembering and beyond mourning today, we work together to make this the country they died for a better nation each and every day. They gave up their todays for our tomorrows, and now we must carry their message of dedication and determination to the generations and to the generations who will serve tomorrow because there is no greater way to honor the memory of those who have secured it.
