May 25, 2016
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – From the earliest days of America’s founding, our great nation has been blessed with generation after generation of patriots willing to lay down their lives in defense of our freedom and way of life.
This Memorial Day, we pay tribute to the heroic patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice – those who bravely rose up and fought for something greater than themselves, protecting a home to which they never returned. We honor their service, mourn their loss and remember the families they left behind.
This sacred day provides an opportunity for all of America to reflect on all we are blessed with. Sadly, the true meaning of this day is often overlooked by mainstream America. To many, Memorial Day represents a day away from work, the approach of summer, the opportunity to take advantage of a Memorial Day sale.
The freedoms that we enjoy today have been paid for at the expense of the lives of American service members, and with the tears of those whose lives were forever changed by the loss of a loved one.
We are a nation whose freedom has been guaranteed by our veterans, and we must rededicate ourselves to honoring the legacy of our nation’s fallen by educating all who believe Memorial Day is just another holiday. We must ensure that the youth of tomorrow understands the true cost of freedom and that there is no greater way to honor the memory of those who have secured it.
Even after Memorial Day passes we will undoubtedly continue to bear the burden of loss that comes with losing a family member, friend, one of our brothers or sisters in arms … but we must take solace in knowing these lives were not lost in vain, and remain forever grateful for their having gifted us the greatest gift on earth … freedom.