Many know that Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. It was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

However, historical facts aside, it is important for us to always remember the meaning and traditions of Memorial Day. While many Americans celebrate the holiday with family and friends at barbeques and ballgames, we simply must pause to remember and pay our respects to our fallen warriors, to reflect on their ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice made so that we could enjoy liberty and freedom, barbeque and baseball.

Many Americans also like to attend movies on Memorial Day weekend, or perhaps watch marathons of reality shows and dramas on television. The recycled works of fiction titled “Godzilla” and “The Amazing Spiderman – 2” combined have 8,000 dedicated screens and over $350 million in ticket sales in just three weeks. No doubt those sales will expand this weekend as Americans take time to relax.

A movie opening this weekend is titled “The Hornet’s Nest”. In this documentary, Peabody and Emmy Award-Winning journalist Mike Boettcher, and his son, Carlos took footage of Soldiers in action and compiled that into a documentary covering America’s longest running war. While embedded with three different brigades of the 101st Airborne Division and 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, they slogged through numerous places unknown to the vast majority of Americans, like the Barwala Kalay Valley. They chronicled the heroism, humanity, sacrifice and loss of great American patriots, whose love of country is truly impressive. Through the entire movie, soldier after soldier expresses his primary motive for moving towards the sound of war, rather than away from it, doing their duty and protecting their Band of Brothers.

The Hornet’s Nest opened Saturday at about 55 theaters and the closest one is Columbus, Ohio.

One would think that the grandest reality of all, the life and death struggles of Americans on the battlefield, might gain a little more attention and interest than a mere 55 theaters.

Soldiers swear an oath upon enlisting into military service. The oath is slightly different for officers, but the enlisted oath of office goes something like this:

“I ___ state your name___ do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”

Words are important. Notice that there are no caveats to the oath, like “as long as it is convenient for me and my family” or “as long as it is a low risk duty and I don’t have to deploy overseas.”

There is also no end date in the oath. In fact, you often find these outstanding Americans continuing to serve long beyond their enlistment period. Yes, I am looking at you, members of the American Legion and VFW. Thank you for your service, past, present and future. And I am looking at you, military family members. Thank you for your support and sacrifice of your Soldiers.

Since the Revolutionary War, in the ultimate expression of love and fulfillment of their oaths, over one million Americans have died in defense of Liberty around the world.

In World War 1, over 116,000 (116,516) Americans paid the price for freedom and liberty. They paid it in the hedge rows of France and in places like The Marne River, Cantigny, and the Argonne Forest. They paid it for you and for me, and they did not even know us.

In World War 2 great Americans left their homes and families and took great risks to secure freedom from evil, tyranny and oppression. Like the Pilgrims who settled America with little more that the shirts on their backs, these Soldiers ventured into places unknown to face the unknown. Over 405,000 Americans died in World War 2, in places called Kasserine Pass, Anzio, Cherbourg, Normandy, the Ardennes, Leyte Gulf Bataan and Cabanataun in operations with codenames like TORCH, OVERLORD, COBRA and FLINTLOCK. Have our children studied these battles? Do they know of the Bataan Death March and the Ghost Soldiers at Cabanatuan? Do they know the names Patton, Bradley, Nimitz, Halsey and MacArthur?

In 1950, American Soldiers again donned the uniform and laced up their boots to fight in a foreign land to defend the principles of freedom in the Korean War. American GI’s endured the harsh climactic conditions and fought bravely in places your children may never have heard of, like the Chosin Reservoir, Pusan and Taegu, and even places with obscure names like “Hill 282” or “Old Baldy”. Over 36,000 (36,516) Americans paid for your freedom and mine in these places, by sacrificing their entire future.

In Vietnam, your brothers and sisters endured hardships and austere conditions in more places whose names your grandchildren do not recognize, like Khe Sahn, Hat Dich and Dak To. Of the 58,209 Americans who died in service to their country in Vietnam, 361 perished at Dak To. How much time in the classroom is devoted to studying places and battles like Dak To, where so many Americans preserved our way of life with their blood?

While Desert Storm was a rapid operation claiming less than 300 (294) American lives, in the present day, almost 7,000 (6,677) Americans died taking the fight against terrorism to the turf of the terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan, as opposed to fighting on our own soil. I wonder how many Americans have no knowledge of American toughness, grit, determination and bravery at places in Iraq like Ramadi, Fallujah, Tall Afar, and Umm Qasr, where brave Americans like Specialist Chris Monroe, Airman 1st Class Elizabeth Jacobson, Sergeant Nathan Field, Specialist Robert Johnson and Staff Sergeant Steve Morin shed their blood just doing their duty?

I recite these few pieces of information in remembrance of the sacrifice these Americans made, in the hopes of keeping these sacrifices alive in our collective memory.

As I join with you today to honor our fallen Warriors past and present on the solemn observance of Memorial Day, I would like to close by again sharing one of my favorite verses which I believe embodies the spirit of Memorial Day.

John 15:13: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Thank you. May God Bless you and May God Bless the United States of America.