What A Sacrifice!

This year we celebrate Memorial Day under the shadow of a global pandemic that has already claimed the lives of active duty servicemembers, military contractors, and over 1,000 veterans – as well as tens of thousands of American civilians. The circumstances of the pandemic have affected all of us; indeed, many of us will be altering or abandoning our normal picnics, barbecues or other celebratory plans in response. So far, the recorded mortality rate in the military is substantially lower than for the population at large, but we still grieve for all those who have lost their lives fighting an implacable and invisible enemy.

This Memorial Day let us remember and honor these fallen heroes.

As we celebrate Memorial Day this year, I would encourage all of us to take a moment to reflect on how the sacrifices of our nation’s military servicemembers so often go unnoticed and unremarked.

These brave men and women give up their lives to protect those of us back home. For the rest of us, it’s all too easy for their personal sacrifices to remain distant, abstract, and even unknown. Since the American Revolution, over a million American servicemembers have died in the line of duty. Our freedom and the protection of the American way of life is owed to their courage and sacrifice.

To those who have risked or lost their lives in service of their country, to the veterans on our staff and in our communities, and to the friends and families of those who have died in the line of duty, thank you, and know that all our thoughts and prayers are with you today.