Memorial Day 2013

I was on Facebook a couple of days ago, when I saw the picture above and the caption was ideal for this weekend. I think of the words of Lee Greenwood's song "God Bless the USA" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf8hfZuzw_A and the words that are in the chorus:
And I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.


So often we focus on our "rights" that we forget the cost that was paid for them. We forget about North Africa, Normandy, France, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and countless other places where "The Greatest Generation" fought to remove the great evils of the world...of places like Pusan, Inchon and other places in Korea where our soldiers fought to keep a country free...the sacrifices made in Vietnam by soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines...Kuwait and the Persian Gulf, to free countries from a brutal dictatorship and Afghanistan....and many other places throughout our world...why do we do so?


Once again I go to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Memorial?s=t and looked up Memorial...and came up with: "something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc" That is what Memorial Day should be about...preserving the memory of what these men and women have done...remembering the cost that was paid for things that at times we take for granted...


I know that I haven't said it often enough...but THANK YOU, for the soldiers of our Army, sailors of our Navy, airmen of the Air Force and Marines. Thank you for willing to serve and if need be to sacrifice yourselves to keep our nation free. May we never forget your sacrifice and never ever take it for granted!