THE FOUNDATION

“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.” –John Adams

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Memorial Day is reserved by American Patriots as a day to honor the service and sacrifice of fallen men and women who donned our Armed Forces uniforms with honor. We at The Patriot pay our humble respects to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice as members of the United States Armed Forces. We will remember you always.

Accordingly, this tribute is in honor of our fallen American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coastguardsmen.

Please join Patriots honoring Memorial Day across our great nation on Monday by observing a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. local time for remembrance and prayer. Flags should be flown at half-staff until noon, your local time. Please give a personal word of gratitude and comfort to surviving family members who grieve for a beloved warrior fallen the battlefield defending our cherished liberties.

(For The Patriot’s tribute to our Armed Forces, see “To Support and Defend … So Help Me God.”

INSIGHT

“[L]et us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us re-consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.” –Dwight Eisenhower

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” –Sir Winston Churchill

“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” –Calvin Coolidge

“Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.” –Pericles

LIBERTY

“These Endured All And Gave All That
Justice Among Nations Might Prevail and
That Mankind Might Enjoy Freedom and
Inherit Peace.”
–inscription on a memorial at the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach

THE GIPPER

“I have no illusions about what little I can add now to the silent testimony of those who gave their lives willingly for their country. Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them. Yet, we must try to honor them – not for their sakes alone, but for our own. And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice. Our first obligation to them and ourselves is plain enough: The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper.” –Ronald Reagan

CULTURE

“As we pause this Memorial Day to honor those who died to preserve our freedom, it’s a good time to take stock of the threats to our nation. I believe that the greatest threat is internal decay that results from a lack of knowledge of those things that make America great.” –Lee Wishing, administrative director of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College

OPINION IN BRIEF

“More than most nations, America has been, from its start, a hero-loving place. … George Washington was our first national hero, known everywhere, famous to children. When he died, we had our first true national mourning, with cities and states re-enacting his funeral. There was the genius cluster that surrounded him, and invented us – Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton. Through much of the 20th century our famous heroes were in sports (Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, the Babe, Joltin’ Joe) the arts (Clark Gable, Robert Frost) business and philanthropy (from Andrew Carnegie to Bill Gates) and religion (Billy Graham). Nobody does fame like America, and they were famous. The category of military hero – warrior – fell off a bit, in part because of the bad reputation of war. Some emerged of heroic size – Gens. Pershing and Patton, Eisenhower and Marshall. But somewhere in the 1960s I think we decided, or the makers of our culture decided, that to celebrate great warriors was to encourage war. And we always have too much of that. So they made a lot of movies depicting soldiers as victims and officers as brutish. This was especially true in the Vietnam era and the years that followed. Maybe a correction was in order: It’s good to remember war is hell. But when we removed the warrior, we removed something intensely human, something ancestral and stirring, something celebrated naturally throughout the long history of man. Also it was ungrateful: They put themselves in harm’s way for us.” –columnist Peggy Noonan

FOR THE RECORD

“On Memorial Day and every day, it’s our job as citizens to remember and honor those who paid the ultimate price to keep us free. … As a free country, we will and should continue to argue over when and where the choice to go to war is worth that cost. But today we honor those who have died to preserve our freedom to disagree! … In World War II, over 400,000 American soldiers were lost in and out of the theater of war. Seeing the rows and rows of grave stones in Normandy, in Arlington Cemetery or in the Los Angeles National Cemetery can begin to demonstrate the enormity of that loss. But it has been the books and movies about the ‘greatest generation’ and our most costly war that has brought our tears to the surface. Whether it was the dramatic and fictional ‘Saving Private Ryan’ or the true story of Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division chronicled in the acclaimed HBO mini-series, ‘Band of Brothers,’ the realistic portrayal of what it took to preserve freedom touches us still. As our Global War on Terror continues and promises to intensify as we shift our focus from Iraq to Afghanistan, let us continue to remember and honor those who have given and will give their lives in serve.” –columnist Terry Paulson

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

(To submit reader comments visit our Letters to the Editor page.)

“As always, I sincerely appreciate all of the men and women who have served this country, protecting our freedoms and the freedoms of others around the world. On this Memorial Day, however, I would like to send a special thank you to all Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coastguardsmen, and all mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who have lost a loved one or comrade in combat. In the eternal battle for Liberty that wages on 24/7, you have given as your family and friends have. My prayers are with you, as they are every day. Thank you and the fallen from the bottom of my heart.” –Kingwood, Texas

“On this Memorial Day, the value of sacrifice and service becomes more significant to many Americans. People recognize the incredible gift of freedom they have thanks to countless honorable and selfless individuals who lost their lives defending liberty and the Constitution. We recognize that their deaths were most definitely not in vein as we remember the price they paid for our sake. We set aside time to pay tribute to their bravery, but why should we do it one day out of the year? Our military personnel are always ready to face whatever dangers await them, so we should recognize their valiant service on a daily basis. Say a prayer, acknowledge them, and show appreciation. Every day should be a memorial day, and The Patriot recognizes that. Thank you for joining me and countless other Americans in remembrance of our fallen heroes (and currently serving as well as retired heroes) not just on Memorial Day, but year round. They have given us a freedom truly worth celebrating.” –Dallas, Texas

THE LAST WORD

“From Bunker Hill to the walls of the Alamo, from the farm fields at Gettysburg to the beaches at Normandy and Iwo Jima, from the Afghanistan mountains to every other piece of hallowed ground where Americans have fought and died in freedom’s name, Old Glory still proudly dances in the wind of freedom. In paying the ultimate sacrifice, American warriors ensured that not only would America continue to be free but that America would continue to be a beacon of freedom so intense that it no threat of oppression can extinguish it. So long as Old Glory flutters in the wind, there is hope. So long as American warriors are willing to carry Old Glory into battle, freedom’s flame will never be extinguished. Our enemies can knock sometimes down our buildings, but mortar, brick and steel does not America make. It is the irrepressible spirit and undying love of freedom that is uniquely America and it is the American warrior who is willing to fight and die to protect the God-given freedoms and rights of all people. On this Memorial Day, I encourage each of you to spend a few moments and quietly offer a prayer of thanks to those who paid for your freedom with their lives. If you have the chance, take your children and walk quietly and reverently through a military cemetery. Stop at each white cross. Read the names carefully on the tombstones. These are the names of freedom. Look up at Old Glory as she dances in the breeze. Surely you will agree there is no more solemn and beautiful sight than to see our sacred stars and stripes fluttering quietly in the breeze above a military cemetery. It is our duty as parents and citizens to ensure that our children and grandchildren know that freedom is not free, that it is paid for with the blood and lives of warriors. Do not shirk this responsibility. It is one of the most important lessons you can ever impart to your children. To quote President Reagan: ‘We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so that we may always be free.' Memorial Day is the most important American holiday. May God eternally bless the American warrior – the protector of freedom and liberty.” –musician and columnist Ted Nugent