As those of us in the United States get ready to start the long Memorial Day weekend, I want to pay my respects to the honored fallen men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Those who have worn the uniform of the nation, placed themselves in the line of fire, and sadly did not return are owed our deep admiration and gratitude.
The sentiment was never better expressed than by Abraham Lincoln, in November 1863 during a ceremony dedicating a cemetery near the site of an American Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, PA.. A portion of that speech, more famously known as the Gettysburg Address:
"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."
I will be doing all the classic Memorial Day things, baseball games, barbecue, etc. But I will take some time to remember all the heroic men and women whose sacrifices have made these celebrations possible. And like Lincoln, I hope we never forget what they have done.
Happy Memorial Day everyone.