Honoring the Fallen on Memorial Day

Photo courtesy of Christopher Hollis

As a soldier in New Guinea during World War II, my grandfather contracted a strain of malaria which remained dormant in his body for over forty years. Long after he returned to the United States to raise my father and aunt, the disease finally caught up with him, and he joined the fallen heroes of war whom we honor on Memorial Day.

I hope all of you enjoy your time off today, but please take a few minutes and think of someone who died for their country. I'm not only talking about veterans, but about all who gave their lives to protect the freedom that makes this country what it is. There are forces, both outside and inside the United States, that seek to challenge our way of life. But there are always people, American heroes, who stand up against those forces, and this Memorial Day let's be sure to thank all of them.

So take a few minutes and think of a veteran, police officer, firefighter, civil rights activist, paramedic, nurse, or anyone else who died to protect this country and make it a better place. There have been many challenges facing this country throughout its two-hundred-thirty-six-year history, but we have survived them all because of American sacrifice, American courage, and American unity.