Every year, on Memorial Day, I ask you to take a minute to remember why we have this holiday.
Each year, here on The Phinsider, I ask each of you to turn away from football for moment for a very special reason. Today marks the unofficial start of summer and features cookouts, friends, and the enjoying of a long weekend. But, this holiday comes with a heavy price tag, and I ask that we all remember why Memorial Day exists.
As I say each year, there is nothing wrong with enjoying your friends and family today. The service members for whom this holiday exists want that. That is why they fought for the freedoms we all enjoy. But it is important that we remember the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen we have lost. Their sacrifice is what gives us this holiday and the freedom to enjoy the day, friends and family, football, and everything else we love.
Over the years, Memorial Day has become a second Veterans Day, with the focus on the service member, but that is not the point of the day. While service members are never going to complain about receiving your thanks, that is not why we have today’s holiday. It is, instead, about those who cannot be with us. The ones who truly gave everything they had, including their own lives, so that we can continue to enjoy our way of life. It’s for the men and women buried in Arlington National Cemetery, veterans cemeteries all around the country – and world – and for the ones who may never come home.
As the saying goes, “All gave some, some gave all.”
Today is not about the all.
Today is about the some.
Friends and family members who left and did not come home. The service members who are remembered with crosses, Stars of David, crescents, and headstones. The service members that still lie on a battlefield somewhere in the world, and may never get the chance to be laid to rest with the rest of their family or comrades.
Today, “Happy” is not the right sentiment for the holiday. Be happy, enjoy the day, enjoy your friends and family, but remember, saying “Happy Memorial Day” is a little off.
Today is for Major Christopher Nogle, who I still do not understand how he is not here with us; I love you and miss you every day, Christopher.
It is also for Sergeant Christopher Taylor, Specialist Russell Nahvi, Sergeant Arthur Mora, Specialist Jose Rosario, Captain Kevin Smith, Specialist Lex Nelson, Specialist Joseph Lucas, Sergeant First Class Jonathan Lowery, Sergeant Benjamin Portell, Captain Rowdy Inman, Staff Sergeant Bryant Mackey, Staff Sergeant Chad Caldwell, Specialist Alex Gonzalez, Sergeant Jose Regalado, Specialist Corey Shea, Corporal Andrew Wilfahrt, Private First Class Robert Friese, and Sergeant Dennis Lee. It is for so very many others.
Today is a day to remember that freedom is not free.
Today is a day to remember the service members who died while serving our country.
Have fun today and tonight. Enjoy the unofficial start to summer. Hopefully you are grilling some great meat, crushing some amazing food, and enjoying great weather. Be smart if you are drinking, and don’t drive.
But, at some point today, take a moment to remember why we have Memorial Day, and maybe teach someone else the importance of the day.
