“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say, ‘What should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ … If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands, which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!” —Samuel Adams (1777)

More than any group among our large ranks of American Patriots, we hear from our Veteran readers. Earlier this week, one of them responded to a recent column, “For Many Veterans, the Vietnam War Never Ended,” writing from Virginia: “I am one of those Viet Nam vets. Marine infantry officer, three tours, 1968-71. Thank you for acknowledging this and for The Patriot Post’s devotion to active-duty military and veterans! Semper Fi!”

Devotion, yes, but moreover, gratitude, especially on Memorial Day.

There are four national days each year when I have both the pleasure and privilege of dedicating columns to the military service of American Patriots: National Medal of Honor Day (25 March), Armed Forces Day (third Saturday in May), Memorial Day (last Monday in May), and Veterans Day (11 November).

Last week was our tribute to “The 250th Anniversary of America’s Armed Forces,” noting that this year marks the 250th anniversary of the 1775 founding of the U.S. Army (14 June), the U.S. Navy (13 October), and the U.S. Marine Corps (10 November). All were established by the Continental Congress during the Revolution for American Liberty.

On occasion, Armed Forces Day (third Saturday in May) falls a week ahead of Memorial Day (last Monday), which is very fitting.

Much as is the case with researching and writing our weekly Profiles of Valor, I look forward to these four columns as a break from the rigors of political and cultural analysis. It is a blessing to focus on the goodness of American Patriots who have served all of us with honor and distinction, many at mortal risk to their own lives, in keeping with their oaths “to support and defend” our Constitution. But those who have served, and who have lost brothers among their ranks, know that their first obligation was not about their oath but their love for the brothers on their left and right.

Memorial Day, as detailed on our tribute page, is reserved to honor American Patriots in uniform who have given their lives in the services of our nation — those who died in combat defending their brothers in arms to sustain the Liberty we enjoy.

Unfortunately, there will be mixed Memorial Day messages this weekend, and we should call them what they are. Some will come from politicians who use Memorial Day to promote their agenda — a distraction from honoring American Patriots who have died in combat. Some otherwise well-meaning souls will post comments that conflate Memorial Day with Armed Forces Day (honoring those still in uniform) and Veterans Day (those who retired their uniforms). Memorial Day is set aside for those who died in their uniforms.

The most offensive of those mixed messages will be the saturation of consumers with “Memorial Day Sales,” disgracefully using the blood of our nation’s Patriots as fodder for profiteering. Fact is, as I wrote years ago, “Memorial Day Is NOT on Sale.” More than 1.3 million American Patriots have already paid the full price.

Every Memorial Day, I take time to respond to any online advertisers I come across with this message: “Using the day we set aside to honor American Patriots who died in defense of our nation for commercial profiteering is disgraceful. Shame on you and your company.” Sometimes I use words that are more strident, more appropriate, but I will spare you the details.

For proper perspective, I invite you to commemorate our national Memorial Day observance by reading (and then sharing) these accounts of Medal of Honor recipients who sacrificed their lives in service to our country.

From the War Between the States, read about the First Medals of Honor awarded to Andrews’ Raiders, many of whom were executed for their actions.

From World War I, read about The Harlem Hellfighters, the 369th Infantry Regiment from the Harlem section of New York, and PVT Henry “Black Death” Johnson.

From World War II, read about the 442nd Infantry Regiment, more than 12,000 Nisei or Sansei (second- or third-generation Japanese-Americans) who volunteered to serve in Europe in 1943 until the end of the war. In less than two years of service, the combined units of the 442nd were among the most decorated in World War II, earning more than 4,000 Purple Hearts, 4,000 Bronze Star Medals, and 560 Silver Star Medals. The units were awarded seven Presidential Unit Citations (five in one month). Moreover, 21 of the 442nd’s members were awarded Medals of Honor for their valorous actions.

From the Korean War, read about POW CPT Father Emil Kapaun, who risked his life every day to serve those around him, as recalled by the former POWs he served. On 23 May 1951, Father Kapaun died in that prison camp. Years earlier, he had written, “When I was ordained, I was determined to ‘spend myself’ for God. I was determined to do that cheerfully, no matter in what circumstances I would be placed or how hard a life I would be asked to lead.” Indeed, he did, and he represented the core of what is good and right about America.

From Vietnam, read about 25-year-old Air Force Capt Lance Sijan, who, despite his severe injuries and with little food and water, successfully evaded capture for 46 days until Christmas Day, when North Vietnamese soldiers found him unconscious near the Ho Chi Minh Trail, about three miles from where he had been shot down. On 22 January 1968, eight days after reaching Hoa Lo prison, the location of “Hanoi Jane” Fonda’s anti-war propaganda photo op, laughing as she posed on an NVA anti-aircraft gun just a few yards away from where American POWs were being tortured, Lance Sijan died.

From Somalia (Operation Restore Hope), read about MoH recipients Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart, who were killed in the October 1993 Battle of Mogadishu, as memorialized in the film “Black Hawk Down.”

And from the Global War on Terrorism, read about 29-year-old LT Michael Murphy, leader of the SEAL team most would know because of Petty Officer 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell’s outstanding book, Lone Survivor, subsequently made into a film. Murphy sacrificed his life in the largest single-day loss of Naval Special Warfare operators since World War II. The LT. Michael P. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Foundation hosts The Murph Challenge on Memorial Day every year in his honor.

Their heroic stories are among our many Profiles of Valor.

On Memorial Day in 1982, Ronald Reagan delivered these remarks in honor of the then-270,000 Patriots interred at Arlington National Cemetery: “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.”

President Reagan continued:

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. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we — in a less final, less heroic way — be willing to give of ourselves.

The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery.

One gets that feeling here on this hallowed ground, and I have known that same poignant feeling as I looked out across the rows of white crosses and Stars of David in Europe, in the Philippines, and the military cemeteries here in our own land. Each one marks the resting place of an American hero and, in my lifetime, the heroes of World War I, the Doughboys, the GIs of World War II or Korea or Vietnam. They span several generations of young Americans, all different and yet all alike, like the markers above their resting places, all alike in a truly meaningful way.

As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. … I can’t claim to know the words of all the national anthems in the world, but I don’t know of any other that ends with a question and a challenge as ours does: “O! say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave, O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?” That is what we must all ask.

Indeed, we must all ask that question today and act accordingly.

In 1985, President Reagan said of those who died defending their brothers in arms and our nation: “They gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us.”

Finally, a note from Medal of Honor recipient Britt Slabinsky, president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society:

Comfort did not buy your freedom. Sacrifice did. It was forged in the fires of crucible, shaped by the hands of those who fought, bled, and died for it. Sometimes far from home. Sometimes without a sound. Too often without recognition. This is not a day for sales, discounts, or sporting events. So when you lie on that mattress bought on holiday markdown, remember – there are heroes lying in their final resting place so you could have that freedom. This is not a holiday of convenience. It is a day of consequence. DON’T CHEAPEN IT.

Today, we honor the real heroes. Men and women who stood in the arena of life and death so that others might live. They did not run from the fire and friction - they leaned into it.

NOT FOR REWARD. NOT FOR RECOGNITION. BUT TO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER. SAFER.

They were our sons. Our daughters. Our brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, friends, and neighbors. They followed the strength of their convictions and paid for it with every dream they would ever have. They went to make it right, so that maybe, one day, the human condition will rise beyond the need for war, death, and destruction. Until that day comes, we - those who remain - carry their memory and pick up the charge of their mission. Memorial Day is not just a day to reflect. It is a day to grow.

So, if you want to honor the fallen, do more than post a quote or raise a glass. Live like their sacrifice mattered. Choose what is right, when it’s hard. Stand up when it is easier to stay quiet. We all have a choice - every day - to be better.

REMEMBER THEIR NAMES. CARRY THEIR LEGACY.

And above all, never let comfort make you forget the cost.

With honor and unwavering resolve, Britt Slabinsky,

“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Live your life worthy of their sacrifice.

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

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