Remembering the cost of freedom

Yahoo

26-05-2025

Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place flags at the headstones of U.S. military personnel buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in preparation for Memorial Day on May 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by)
On September 11, 2001, I was 29 years old, deployed to Kuwait as an Army Aviator in the Indiana National Guard. I was flying a mission in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter over northern Kuwait near the Iraq border when I learned that terrorists had attacked our homeland.
I remember the flood of emotions that hit me — shock, sorrow, anger, and an overwhelming sense of resolve. In that moment, the mission became personal. The idea of service, which had always been central to my life, was no longer just about duty — it became about defending the people I loved, the nation I swore to protect, and the ideals that define us as Americans.
As a soldier and an American, I am humbled by the memory of those we honor on Memorial Day. From the beaches of Normandy to the jungles of Vietnam, from the fields of Gettysburg to the deserts of Iraq, generations of selfless men and women have laid down their lives so that we may enjoy the blessings of freedom, security, and peace.
Every headstone at Arlington National Cemetery, every name etched on a memorial wall, tells the unique sacrifice of a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine who gave everything in the service of something greater than themselves, and we will never forget them.
The origins of Memorial Day trace back to the Civil War, a conflict so brutal it claimed more American lives than any war in our history. After the devastation brought about by that war, America committed to the idea of remembering and honoring our fallen. That brought about many of today's memorials, including the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis. Over the nearly 250 years of our nation, what remains constant is the character of those who wear the uniform: courage, sacrifice, and a love of country that transcends self-interest.
Whenever I am in Washington D.C., I find time to stop by the Lincoln Memorial and take a moment to reflect by reading the Gettysburg Address etched in the memorial wall. I always walk away humbled and with a renewed sense of purpose because of the words President Lincoln spoke that day.
'The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.'
As we approach this long weekend and the unofficial start of summer, let us remember the true meaning of Memorial Day — to honor the cost of freedom and remember those who paid it for us. This weekend is for the people who never made it home, whose lives were cut short in the pursuit of liberty.
To my fellow service members, past and present, I say thank you. To the Gold Star families, know that your loved ones will never be forgotten — their sacrifice lives on in the heart of this nation. And to all Americans: may we honor the fallen not just today, but every day, through our commitment to the values they fought and died to protect.
Honoring their names means more than offering gratitude. It means carrying forward the ideals they believed in — freedom, justice, and unity — and understanding that the fight to preserve them is never over.
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