Good morning. It’s an honor to be here speaking today. An honor to be standing here, in this land, surrounded by my fellow Americans who live free. Freedom – living free – these are words that we are hearing a lot of lately. These are words that are on every screen, big and small, on the lips of the pundits and citizens alike as we don our masks – or don’t, shop amid empty shelves, and wonder when our lives and our world will return to normal. Many say our freedoms are being threatened, taken away; many are saying that we can’t trade our freedoms for fear – trade them for control.
The very soul of our nation is crying out with millions of voices — all with different opinions, and all with the freedom to express those opinions. These freedoms that we cling to so strongly, so ferociously, came at a terrible cost — a cost of blood; the blood of our fathers, brothers, sons and daughters; our sisters and mothers — the blood of our young loved — shed freely for us and never in vain.
I had an experience this past winter that I would like to share. I was traveling home from Norfolk, Virginia and while on a layover, focused on delay frustrations and the crowded terminal, I suddenly noticed that all noise around me had gone silent. The next thing that happened took my breath away. As the passengers of the plane that just landed began to debark, every person in the terminal stood and cheered for the World War II vets who were coming off of the plane. There was no one sitting, no one lost in the book they were reading, no one engrossed in what was on their phone screen; every man, woman, and child in my terminal, and the surrounding terminals, was on their feet and cheering like you would see at a baseball game. It was truly awe inspiring!
If you ever get to sit and talk to a man or woman who served in combat, pay attention to their stories as they spin you a tapestry of bravery, excitement, and heroic acts beyond the dreams of Hollywood. Look into their eyes and see the shadows and ghosts pass behind them; the ones who didn’t come home; never got the ticker tape parades; never returned to the loving arms of their families – those who were asked much and gave all for the dream in which we now live.
From the fields, cities, and waters of Europe, to the hot sands of the Middle East, to the beaches and jungles of Asia, over 1.4 million sailors, Marines, airmen, and soldiers used their very lives as shields against tyranny, oppression, terrorism, and despair. Even on our own soil, our men and women spent their lives for freedom. Whether it was as colonies pursuing the dream of freedom from the Crown or our own brothers and neighbors taking up arms in the Union or Confederacy to fight for the ways they defined freedom, or for the rights of others to be free. Their sacrifices paved the way and laid the very foundation for the ground on which we stand today.
When you drive around you may see a black flag flying from a VFW hall, war memorial, from the back of a motorcycle, or carried in a parade; a black flag with the letters MIA and POW inscribed upon it. There remains nearly 82,000 Americans unaccounted for; thousands of families with no confirmation for closure, no finality for the ones who answered their country’s call and never returned but lack the answer of why, how, or when; just Missing in Action, or Prisoner of War.
When you see a Veteran or a Service Member in uniform, take a good look at the decorations worn, the stripes earned; they speak not just of that individual or that unit but of the legacy of those who came before. Every military tradition and service song, every medal and rank insignia, even the piping and cut of the uniforms themselves have a meaning rooted in dignity, honor, respect, and sacrifice.
As a community and nation we will move forward and face the challenges of tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that – let’s face them together and cherish our freedoms; exercise them, respect them, and never take them for granted. They cost so much and are envied by so many who would strip them away. Teach your children about the war memorial in town; teach them why it’s here and what it means. Teach them to be free and to love that freedom.
Elmer Davis wrote, “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”
A virtual parade was created by Ashley Wiknik, which included photos from past Memorial Day celebrations over the last 100 years. That video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OK39EQvgt4
Photos by Christina Mason.
