Remembering those who died for this country

It is easy to get so wrapped up in our plans for this three day weekend that we  forget the reason we have this three day weekend in the first place. So let me pull directly from today's Dear Abby column for a reminder of what this day is all about:

Memorial Day is not about war. It’s about people. It’s about those dedicated individuals — most of them young — who died serving their country and their fellow Americans as well as future generations. In other words, all of us. 

We Americans are at our best when we come together bonded by a noble purpose. And that’s the reason for the National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day. 

[...] 

Unfortunately, too many of our citizens forget to remember. I am determined to find ways to help America continue to pay tribute to the nearly 2 million men and women who have died for us. Our freedoms should remind us of their sacrifice and our debt to them. 

It is our duty to never forget them, to keep them in our hearts and in our actions. They were the best of the best — the pride of the USA. We owe them the commitment to reflect on what they did and to put remembrance into action. This means to give back to our country and to live honoring them every day, not just on Memorial Day. Thank you for all you do to honor America’s heroes.

And I would add that we should also acknowledge and honor the loved ones of those who sacrificed their lives for this country. Their sacrifice to this country cannot be quantified either.

And lastly, let us never forget the many gay and lesbian service members, like Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Not only will we never really know how many of these brave men and women were forced to hide who they really were because of offensive, descriminatory policies like DADT, but we continue to denigrate their memory and their sacrifice with the creation and enforcement of odious laws that deny their glbt brothers and sisters the rights and dignity bestowed upon everyone else. There is no bigger injustice to these brave men and women's memory than denying them the very rights they fought and died for.