Memorial Day 2013 – Remembering & Thanking Our Heroes For Their Service & Sacrifice Because Freedom is not Free

On this Memorial day, Scared Monkeys sends a special thank you to all of the men and woman who have sacrificed their lives to that We, the United States of America, remain free. We thank those who we can no longer thank personally for their sacrifice to this great Country. Thank you, we shall never forget you your service and sacrifice.

As we know, freedom is never free and it is our heroes of the United States Armed Forces who we all owe a debt of gratitude. Thank you for your service, sacrifice, honor and dedication to this country. So please, as you have the day off today, spend it with family and friends and celebrate the day in your own special way, take the time to remember those who gave their lives to make this day possible. These are true American heroes who should never be forgotten.

On this Memorial Day please remember to give thanks and honor those who protected this great Nation against evil and those who have laid down their lives in the ultimate sacrifice to protect our liberty and freedom. A special thank you to the men and woman of our Armed Forces who have paved the way to freedom with their lives. We thank you and your families for your service, sacrifice, honor and dedication to this country.

God Bless the USA – Lee Greenwood

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I wont forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today. ‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.

The words of President Ronald Reagan, Arlington National Cemetery, May 31, 1982: (read the entire inspirational and beautiful speech here).

“The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we — in a less final, less heroic way — be willing to give of ourselves.” [...]

“As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. And let us also pledge to do our utmost to carry out what must have been their wish: that no other generation of young men will every have to share their experiences and repeat their sacrifice.”

On a personal note I say thank you and you are missed to my uncle who is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He served during WWII in George S. Patton’s Third Army. During his service he was a multiple Purple Heart recipient and was awarded the Bronze Star and Silver Star. What a special person this man was and a walking talking historian. He was so hesitant, like so many heroes from our “Greatest Generation” of talking about what he had experienced. My Uncle Joe enlisted as an 18 year old boy and came back from WWII a changed man, whose own mother did not even recognize. He would only talk about the war to me in his later years when he realized I was studying it in college as I was a History major. So many of his accounts of what happened just brought a tear to my eye that so many went through so much and sacrificed all. For me, other than the religious holidays of Easter and Christmas, the two most important American holidays are Memorial Day and Independence Day. Freedom truly is not free. I learned that from a man who until the day he passed away set off metal detectors in airports from the shrapnel that was in his body as a result of multiple German hand grenades.  I can remember Taps being played at my uncles funeral at Arlington National Cemetery like it was just yesterday.  To my uncle … Thank you from your namesake, Red.

We will never forget all of the brave acts of courage and sacrifice from all those who have served, God Bless All.