Memorial Day: Remembering what is sacrificed for our future

State Representative Nancy Tate released the following statement in honor of Memorial Day:

"Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of summer each year. It is famous for backyard cookouts, long weekends, and family gatherings. Yet beneath the familiar traditions rests a solemn reminder of the sacrifices made for our safety and freedom. We remember the Americans who never came home and the sacrifice their absence represents for us and for generations to follow.

This year, as we celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary, the importance of Memorial Day carries even greater significance. For our nation to survive across the centuries, countless men and women paid the ultimate price for our freedom. From the Revolutionary War to operations in the Middle East, American service members fought to preserve our nation, our freedom, and our safety.

This Memorial Day, we are called to more than remembrance. We are asked to reflect on the cost of the freedoms we take for granted in this great nation and honor those who gave their lives in its defense by living in a way that honors their sacrifice.

This year, as many as 13 American servicemen and women have sacrificed their lives for our nation. Two of these great patriots called our Commonwealth home. The first, Staff Sergeant Benjamin Pennington of Glendale, succumbed to wounds received during an Iranian strike on U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia. Kentuckians also mourn the passing of Technical Sergeant Ashley Pruitt of Bardstown, who was killed while supporting the same operation. She was one of six U.S. Air Force personnel aboard a KC-135 air tanker that crashed in Iraq. Their service and sacrifice to this nation remind us that the cost of freedom is not always from the distant past or from the last generation.

In remembrance of those who sacrificed it all for this nation, many have developed respectful and solemn traditions. The most famous is the laying of wreaths at the graves of the nation’s fallen soldiers. In May of 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic, led by Major General John A. Logan, established Decoration Day, a day when the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers were honored with flowers.

After World War I, the observation of Decoration Day expanded to honor those who sacrificed all, not just those who had fallen during the Civil War. It was made a federal holiday in 1971 and called Memorial Day. The name signifies the reverence and honor the day is intended to show for all those who have fallen for this nation.

Now, across our nation, Americans celebrate this day in many ways. Many observe the National Moment of Remembrance, a one-minute period of silence observed at 3 p.m. each Memorial Day. Others solemnly stand for the playing of Taps or support their nation and community by attending a special service or Memorial Day parade. Further, throughout the weekend, the military cemeteries across the commonwealth will welcome hundreds of visitors to honor the thousands of Kentuckians interred within them.

Memorial Day is one of our nation's most significant holidays. It calls us to respect and honor, not just the idea of our nation but the lives of more than a million Americans who never returned home. This Memorial Day, be sure to honor their sacrifice with respect and, most importantly, by being an active part of your community. Honor their lives by living ours for others."