“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—” – Romans 5:7
On this somber day, we remember those who died for us, having given their lives in the service of this nation. In every conflict around the world during the nearly 250 years since the United States was born, there have always been those who “gave the last full measure of devotion.”
They sacrificed their lives for a nation, an ideal, and a dream of freedom. They fought for loved ones, for friends, for neighbors, and for strangers. They fought for us.
In a year that has already seen great division and the continued testing of our bonds of union as a nation, let us remember what those we honor today died for. Let us do what President Lincoln said for us to do. “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”