Memorial Day: Honor, Valor, Tribute

A World War II veteran looks at the national World War II Memorial on the mall in Washington, D.C.
Spc. Lorie Jewell 

"In moments where a tear falls from sadness, I find it transformed into a tear of pride. Being here reminds me of what a great nation we live in, whether we remember it all the time or not. Perhaps it is not necessarily patriotism that makes everyone join the military, but being in the military and seeing the world, one cannot help but long for America, to see her beauty, to realize how special she is."
- From a blog by Army Reserve Sgt. Chris Missick, 24

USATODAY.com - 'Milbloggers' are typing their place in history

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Soldier blogs bring the front line to the folks at home | csmonitor.com

"I don’t care if you think we should not be in Iraq or Afghanistan. What I care about are the soldiers who are doing their nation’s bidding. If we treat them as we did the Vietnam generation it will be the ultimate statement of our moral poverty as a people. Love them. Honor them. Thank them. They didn’t start the war but they are fighting it well and they are long from being done. Let’s not help create another generation of haunted veterans. We are better than that and, more importantly, the sacrifices of our countrymen abroad call for the best we have to give."
From a blog by Stephen Mansfield, author of The Faith of the American Soldier

A floral tribute and U.S. flags lay among the thousands of headstones of U.S. servicemen buried at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC, May 30, 2005. Memorial Day, May 30, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in the nation's military service, and this year's holiday coincides with the dedication of a World War II memorial that has drawn hundreds of thousands of veterans for what is likely the last major gathering of U.S. soldiers from that conflict. 

Memorial Day originated in 1868, when Union General John A. Logan designated a day in which the graves of Civil War soldiers would be decorated. Known as Decoration Day, the holiday was changed to Memorial Day within twenty years, becoming a holiday dedicated to the memory of all war dead. It became a federal holiday in 1971, and is now observed on the last Monday in May.