Memorial Day

Memorial Day is our most expensive holiday. It has been paid for in advance by those who gave their all to pay for it. Every hot dog, every burger, every beverage came at a price paid by others.

Countless courageous men and women have served our nation well and their day comes later this year, but on this day we acknowledge our debt to those who paid their all for this day. On Memorial Day we honor those who paid with their lives. Every mom who will never hug her child again, every dad who cried privately for the pride of his life, and every spouse who will no longer embrace their beloved, and every child who will never know their parents apart from a photo, shared in the payment by their grief. In reality theirs is an ongoing payment.

This day should be more than a day off from our regular routine, it should be a day when we at least pause to memorialize those who paid for it.

We owe an enormous debt. In addition to those who have died in the current war and in defense of freedom consider these numbers:

Revolutionary War: 25,324

Civil War: 498,332

Spanish American War: 1,862       

World War I: 116,710

World War II: 407,316

Korean War: 54,546

VietNam War: 58,098

Persian Gulf War (1990-1991): 382 U.S. military deaths

Iraq-Related Operations: 4,605 U.S. military deaths

Afghanistan-Related Operations: 2,459 U.S. military deaths

Post-9/11 wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere: Over 7,000 U.S. service members and over 8,000 contractors have died.
(These figures vary based on various sources.)

Our gratitude should be shown by more than a single day. It should be shown by the way we live every day. Our work ethic, our moral conduct, our devotion to our national loyalty, and our regard for our family are ways of showing our thanks for the price paid enabling our freedom.

In the religious community every day of worship is a memorial day. In the Christian community it is a day for memorializing our beloved Lord who paid for it and much more by His sacrificial death.

Don’t neglect any one such day and honor the One who paid for it with His life.