On this Memorial Day Weekend, we gather to pay tribute to our country’s men and women who fell in the line of duty. And we gather against a most fitting backdrop to remember and honor those heroes many of whom are friends and relatives who sacrificed all for the protection and continuance of our basic freedoms and rights as Americans. We come together in remembrance … with solemn hearts but with a strong feeling of gratitude. Memorial Day has always been a most solemn and patriotic day for many Americans, yet busy schedules, vacations, and commercialism sometimes fog its true meaning. But the true meaning is simple although the magnitude of the actions of those we honor is great. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. is quoted as saying, “To the indifferent inquirer who asks why Memorial Day is still kept up we may answer, it celebrates and solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of enthusiasm and faith. It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with enthusiasm and faith is the condition of acting greatly. To fight out a war, you must believe something and want something with all your might.” The cemetery in which we stand is a fitting site for this ceremony, for among us lay countless men and women who lost their lives in the Civil War. And it was after the Civil War that Memorial Day was established to honor the dead and the commitment of those who served on both sides in that conflict. We continue to come together to remember those that were lost in all our nation’s wars. We come together to ensure that future generations may never forget. This ceremony and this holiday have special meaning to me, for my namesake, my uncle fought and lost his life in World War I. On a personal level, my uncle’s story is one that I take with me every day. And although this is but a single day set aside for remembrance, the stories of all those we have lost to war are the stories we must carry with us always. It is our duty to educate younger generations about the stories that each of us here carries. The freedoms and rights that we so often take for granted are due to the actions of those that we have lost. Our ability to enjoy and appreciate the blessings of freedom and the rights of our citizenship are products of individual sacrifices made for the common good. Speaking at the 40th anniversary of D-Day, former President Ronald Reagan noted, “When our Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy 40 years ago, they came not as conquerors, but as liberators. When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the forests of Belgium and Luxembourg, they came not to take, but to return what had been wrongfully seized. When our forces marched into Germany, they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people, but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to be free again.” History confirms for us what we all know in our hearts Americans have risked and lost their lives fighting to protect the values and interests we hold sacred. It is the desire to protect liberty and ensure democracy that served as their fighting call. And it is that dedication to the freedoms and rights that we hold sacred that must be carried forward by all of us. As President John F. Kennedy said, speaking of our country’s dedication to freedom, “we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” Without the courage and valor of those that lost their lives for our country… and without the sacrifices made by those veterans among us today… the values that have allowed us to move forward as a state and as a nation to meet new challenges would have been lost. American men and women who serve our country risk their lives to defend our freedom and democracy. Americans have always willingly faced this challenge. In World War I, my uncle did so, and here in this cemetery we have a strong reminder of another. Charles Graves, who grew up not far from here, now lays at rest here as The Last Known Soldier of World War I. His courageous spirit should help us all remember the debt of gratitude we owe him and all we have lost. As we approach a new millennium, we must learn the lessons of generations before us. Those that have served our country, both living and dead, have given us, through great sacrifices, the inspiration to act to ensure a promising future, one that can be looked upon with pride. Let us remember their sacrifices. In 1868, Major General John A. Logan issued an order for his posts to decorate graves “with the choicest flowers of springtime.” He also urged that, “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance… Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.” Let us remember that freedom does not come cheap. It comes at a cost. And this cemetery is a reminder of that cost. Let us remember that the challenges and sacrifices that these men and women have faced continue today, because, even in times of peace, we must remain vigilant for our freedoms are never certain… they must be protected. Let us remember to ask ourselves as we leave here today what can we do to honor the sacrifices of those we have lost? What can we do to ensure that their legacies continue? And how can we ensure that future generations will continue to remember so that no one will ever forget? And let us all remember the men and women who died to keep us free, for they represent the true price of freedom. |
