Memorial Day has come to mean the beginning of summer, a time for picnics and barbecues, and a holiday to gather around the family. That happiness and freedom, however, is a product of the real cause for the holiday: the sacrifice made by men and women who have fought and died for the freedoms and liberties Americans hold dear. Memorial Day is a time to remember that the American way of life is not cheap but rather has been purchased by the lives and blood of so many who have sacrificed for us to live free and happily now.

~ Where we gather today ‘neath “The Stars,”
Let’s honor the living now wearing the scars
Which they brought from the fields of battle and strife,
While protecting “Our Flag” and our Nation’s life.
Lets the flowers bear tribute in their simple way.
And each on remember Memorial Day;

~ Frederick W. Emerson (Memorial Day)