They didn't get to come home to put the horrors of combat behind them. Never had a reunion with loved ones. Never got to revel in the freedom they valiantly fought for. This weekend we honor their sacrifice by placing flags on the ground where they came home to rest. We remember them in prayer. We show our pride in their service by flying the flag that represents what they stood for: Red for VALOR. White for PURITY and INNOCENCE. And Blue for VIGILANCE, PERSEVERANCE and JUSTICE.
I never met my Uncle Leonard. He died over twenty years before I was born. But he was always a part of our large family. His picture hung in the living room of Grandma's home next to the letter from President Harry Truman, "In grateful memory". Grandma always looked at it lovingly and with pride as she mourned her eldest son. It stirred emotion in his brothers, who probably wondered what life would have been like had he come home. In us, his many nephews and nieces, it provoked questions about Uncle Leonard, and it also reminded us of the sacrifices so many have made to keep us safe, and free from tyranny here at home and around the world.
When I go to the cemetery on Memorial weekend, I place a flag on Uncle Leonard's grave. An honor I have proudly taken over from his friends and fellow veterans of the "Greatest Generation". I am reminded of all that we are blessed with in this country. Especially in the fact that we have had succeeding great generations who have enlisted in the service of our nation to preserve, protect and defend the principles that so many before them have given their lives for.
Memorial day is for the greatest Americans. Fly your flag to remember the fallen soldiers, to support those who currently serve and to show their families that they are in your thoughts and prayers.
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