Editorial: Remembering sacrifice on Memorial Day
Share this post:
For Memorial Day, a classic Trib editorial:
On this Memorial Day, be grateful that Americans’ willingness to sacrifice for freedom’s sake, instilled by each generation in the next, remains as strong as ever.
Today, Americans honor those most worthy of such gratitude — those who gave their lives in our nation’s service. Be proud and thankful that their spirit of sacrifice lives on undiminished among our men and women in uniform, all volunteers, serving and dying today wherever they are called.
Veterans’ graves are emblems of that same spirit, whether they hold the remains of heroes who fell in Baghdad or Saigon, on Omaha Beach or in a Western European trench. To those who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our liberty, all Americans owe the ultimate debt, one greater than we ever can repay fully.
We can, however, pay down that debt by ensuring that Memorial Day does not lose its meaning.
We must put first thanking veterans marching in parades (by standing and applauding), paying proper respect to the flag for which so many have died (by saluting it or holding our hands over our hearts as it passes), caring for the graves of fallen heroes (by tending to them with quiet reverence) and praying for those lost (with the deepest of humility).
Their duty is done. Ours is to honor them, especially on Memorial Day, knowing full well that our obligation to them is as eternal, sacred and unchanging as their sacrifice.
— — —
Our presidents speak on Memorial Day:
“Throughout history, these women and men laid down their lives, not for a place or a person or a president, but for an idea unlike any other idea in all of human history. The idea — the idea of the United States of America.”
— Joe Biden, 2023
“Every time we sing our anthem, every time its rousing chorus swells our hearts with pride, we renew the eternal bonds of loyalty to our fallen heroes. …We remember the young Americans who never got the chance to grow old but whose legacy will outlive us all.”
— Donald Trump, 2020
“The nobility and majesty of this day can be found in the story of ordinary Americans who became extraordinary for the most simple of reasons: They loved their country so deeply, so profoundly, that they were willing to give their very lives to keep it safe and free. And whether they made that sacrifice 200 years ago or two days ago, theirs is a common story that humbles all who hear it.”
— Barack Obama, 2010
“The greatest memorial to our fallen troops cannot be found in the words we say or the places we gather. The more lasting tribute is all around us — a country where citizens have the right to worship as they want, to march for what they believe and to say what they think.”
— George W. Bush, 2007