Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day

Yesterday was Memorial Day. It is, as you know, a day we set aside as a nation to commemorate those who have given their lives to insure that the United States remains free. It is a day of remembrance and recognition of the high cost of freedom.
Some years ago I heard a Preacher say that freedom was a "bloody" purchase. I suppose I hadn't really thought of it those terms before. But, I believe he was right. Freedom for the US began in the hearts and minds of those who met in Philadelphia. The purchase was paid for by men who went to the battlefield and died. Over and over again the cost of freedom has been the life's blood of those willing to give their lives. Our nation has been involved in many wars and conflicts literally all over the world. Each time men and women died. The cost has never been cheap.
Yesterday, I listened to the names of the of our Servicemen and Women who died this last year in the service of our country as they were read. I was struck by the ages of the deceased. Most of them were under 25 years of age. They were sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, and friends and family of the United States of America. They were our sons and daughters, and they gave their blood for freedom.
To everyone of them a debt of thanks is owed that we can never fully repay. To each of their families we mourn with you at your loss. But know this, whether in Afghanistan, Iraq, or anywhere else our they were sent, their sacrifice did not go unnoticed. I for one thank you, because I am free.

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