Words to consider on this Memorial Day weekend

Since 1971, we’ve observed Memorial Day on the last Monday of May. As a federal holiday, many of us have enjoyed this as an excuse to have parades, fire up the grill or head out to the lake. In 2020, things are obviously a little bit different. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the reason we have the freedom to celebrate. This year, you may not be throwing a barbecue or heading downtown to find the perfect spot on a parade route, but you still have the opportunity to remember the men and women who gave their lives fighting for our country during every war from the Civil War through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To put this day in perspective, here are fifteen quotes to think about on this Memorial Day weekend…

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived.” – General George S. Patton

“…And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.” – President Ronald Reagan

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” – Nathan Hale

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” – President Bill Clinton

“My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” – President John F. Kennedy

“Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.” – President Harry S. Truman

“May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn’t free.” – Sgt. Major Bill Paxton

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.” – President Barack Obama

“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” – President Theodore Roosevelt

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis

“Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.” – President Calvin Coolidge

“For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” – President James A. Garfield

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” – General Norman Schwarzkopf

“Home of the free, because of the brave.” – Unknown