Memorial Day - a special day to remember

This weekend and especially Monday, I hope you will take time honor our Veterans that were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice to defend their brothers and sisters and our awesome country.

Memorial Day isn't about honoring all veterans; it’s honoring those who lost their lives. Memorial Day is a day that we as the country can come together to honor and remember our servicemen and women who answered America’s call to serve and while doing so, paid the ultimate price. Memorial Day is the time for all Americans as one, to stand up and say, “Thank you. We remember you. We are grateful to you.”

We honor all family members and friends of the fallen, who are all joined and bound by loss in a way most of us can’t even imagine. If you are reading this and fall into that category, we remember you and we thank you for your sacrifice.

Men and women who serve are part of an extraordinarily selfless group. They fight as a team and as a family, and they look out and protect one another to their last dying breaths. I can’t imagine getting the visit that these family members got when they were notified they had lost a son or daughter, husband or wife, Mother or Father.

Please take the time, if just for this one day we call Memorial Day, to say thank you to our fallen. For those who never left the battlefields, we must hold them up and honor their memories.

So please, spend some extra time with your loved ones this weekend. Step back from the daily stresses and reflect on your freedoms that so many of our brothers and sisters died to protect. Enjoy your cookout and share some of this with your kids so they will understand the importance of this great day. I’m asking you to teach them to always remember why we all have the luxury and freedom we enjoy today.

Semper Fi!

Jim