Memorial Day 2020 – Thank You to All Who Have Served!

Memorial Day is more than just the unofficial start of summer. Memorial Day is a federal holiday for honoring and remembering all those who gave their lives while serving in the armed forces. This Memorial Day, I would like to extend a personal and heartfelt thank you to all who have served. And I would like to honor their sacrifice, as well as the sacrifices made by their families.

Those in my life who have served

My uncles, my mom’s brothers, served in World War II. Uncle Buddy, my Aunt Jo’s husband, was a young sailor stationed at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the day it was attacked. Fortunately, he was walking across the base and not on a ship when the attack happened. Every year on December 7 he would tell us all the story of that day.

My father’s brother served in the Korean War. My dad served in the Army, but luckily there was no war going on at the time. Several of my cousins served in Vietnam. Guys I grew up with were sent to fight in the Afgan war in the 1980s. I remember being amazed when a friend from high school joined the Navy after graduation. She was the first woman I ever knew who joined the military.

Children of my friends and cousins served in the Iraqi war after the attacks of September 11. And today, my cousin’s son, one of my BFF’s son-in-law, and my daughter’s best friend are serving in the US Army. Several other of my daughter’s friends have joined the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines since graduation last spring. I send a huge thank you to each and everyone of these heros.

So today, on your way to your barbeque, picnic or other celebration, take a moment to remember our military. Take a moment to remember, and say thank you to all who have served. And say a prayer for all who gave their lives so that we may be free.