From the battlefields of Yorktown to Arlington’s National Cemetery, Virginians are surrounded by monuments and reminders of the significant cost of freedom. During our nation’s 239-year history, countless men and women have answered the call of duty and left their homes and families behind to defend against the enemies of liberty. It is because of these patriots and their sacrifice that the United States continues to serve as a symbol of justice and equality.
During May, we’ve been honoring our military service members all month long, but Memorial Day gives us the distinct opportunity to honor our fallen heroes, and to remember those who gave “the last full measure of devotion” so that we might go on living in the absence of fear. Most of these men and women were young when they died, and as Ronald Reagan said, they gave up two lives, “the one they were living and the one they would have lived.” Our gratitude belongs to them—to those who fought for something they considered more important than life.
This Memorial Day, join me in honoring our service members who never left the battlefield—who gave their all whether on the beaches of Normandy or the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan—and those who continue to fight for our freedoms every day.
