President Obama on Saturday encouraged people to use this Memorial Day to remember American servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
“[T]his Memorial weekend, I hope you’ll join me in acts of remembrance,” he said in his weekly address. “Lay a flower or plant a flag at a fallen hero’s final resting place.”
“Reach out to a Gold Star Family in your community, and listen to the story they have to tell,” Obama said. “Send a care package to our troops overseas, volunteer to make a wounded warrior’s day a little easier or hire a veteran who is ready and willing to serve at home just as they did abroad.”
“Or just pause, take a moment and offer a silent word of prayer or a public word of thanks,” he added.
Obama noted that there are still American troops in harms’ way overseas, and said the right time to thank them is “every day of the year.”
But he said Memorial Day is different. “It’s the day we remember those who never made it home; those who never had the chance to take off the uniform and be honored as a veteran,” he said.
He said he and his wife have spent time with the families of those who never made it back. Obama said it’s “up to the rest of us to live our lives in a way that’s worthy of these sacrifices.”
“The debt we owe our fallen heroes is one we can never truly repay,” Obama said. “But our responsibility to remember is something we can live up to every day of the year.”
“May God watch over our fallen heroes and their families, and may God continue to bless the United States of America,” he said.
