Today
we honor the memory of the more than 1.2 million Americans in uniform who have
given their lives for our country. No
words can adequately describe the valor of the men and women we honor today. They defended the future of freedom at places
like Bunker Hill and Yorktown, Gettysburg and Antietam, the trenches of France,
Guadalcanal and Normandy, the Korean peninsula, Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan
and Iraq. Thanks to America's service
members, freedom endures.
For
more than 200-years, Americans have distinguished themselves on the
battlefields for freedom. In places far
from American soil, men and women, representing every race, religion and creed
of this diverse American melting pot, have willingly donned an American
military uniform and defended this country.
And they all knew the risk.
The
Americans we honor today loved the ideals and values upon which this nation was
founded – values like loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor,
integrity and personal courage.
As
we pay homage to our nation’s fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, let
us reaffirm our national commitment of keeping the freedom torch burning for
tomorrow. Let us support the American
armed forces that are defending freedom even at this moment. For today’s armed forces personnel, the
mission of defending freedom lives on … strengthened by our eternal memory of
American patriots who have given their lives to preserve peace and democracy
for future generations. Your support of
our armed forces is one of the most powerful weapons in the war against
terrorism.
In
addition to honoring the memory of those who gave their lives for this country,
I urge you to remember in your prayers their families; and to our living
veterans and to the service men and women who continue to defend our freedom.
The
words that adorn the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery, where some of our
heroes are interred, also speak volumes about the bravery and valor of the men
and women who risked their lives for our nation:
“Not
for fame or reward, not for place or rank, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple
obedience to duty as they understood it, these men suffered all, sacrificed
all, dared all and died.”
May
the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country live
forever in our memories. And may we
honor them by doing everything we can to protect freedom for future
generations, whenever, and wherever, it is threatened.
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor,
Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
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