Today is Memorial Day, a national observance once known as Decoration Day. This day was initially established to honor the Civil War dead by decorating their graves. Over time, the holiday expanded to include all those who gave “the last full measure of devotion” for the nation.
Across the country today, American flags will be flown at half-mast until noon. In a beautiful tradition known as “Flags In,” soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment — “The Old Guard” — have placed flags at hundreds of thousands of gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. As they have done every year since 1948, Third Infantry soldiers will remain at the military cemetery throughout the holiday weekend to make sure the flags stay in place.
Memorial Day has become an occasion for rest and relaxation. It has also become an opportunity to honor our current soldiers — the all-volunteer forces that constitute the finest military in the world. It is important to remember that even if the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are officially over, U.S. soldiers remain engaged, and are dying, in conflicts across the globe. American soldiers are training Shiite soldiers to battle the Islamic State in Iraq, and are now conducting airstrikes against insurgent forces in Afghanistan.
Take time today to reflect on fallen heroes and the values they died to preserve. Remember what occurred at Concord Bridge, across the rolling hills of Antietam and on the sandy beaches of Normandy. And do not forget the more than 80 American soldiers who in 2006 were killed in Ramadi, the Iraqi city seized by the Islamic State only days ago.
In a 2014 Gallup poll, the military ranked first among 17 institutions in terms of the amount of confidence they instill in the public. Seventy-four percent of Americans said they had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the military. Tellingly, and not surprisingly, the news media ranked near the bottom. Congress came in dead last, earning respect from just 7 percent of respondents.
There are many reasons why, at a time of declining confidence in many of America’s institutions, respect for the military remains robust. Perhaps chief among them is the recognition by most Americans that without the soldiers’ sacrifices, not only this country but the values that define it would be lost.
Finally, remember that America’s freedom is a legacy that each generation pays in flesh and blood to uphold. That should make all Americans grateful, not mournful. As General George Patton once said, “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”
America remains the greatest nation on earth and a beacon of hope to millions. And it is due in significant part to the valor of those whose memory and service are honored today.
