carl,
Memorial Day is a complicated holiday for our men and women in
uniform.
The name alone stands as a solemn reminder that friends and
family have fallen in defense of America. We all mourn that loss while honoring
the sacrifice of those brave heroes. So when you see service members and
veterans today, they may seem more somber and reflective than usual.
Here
in the U.S., many of us will visit a cemetery to pay tribute to those we have
lost in service to our country. We may visit Arlington National Cemetery, where
we remember Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, words that inspired many of
those military heroes to join the fight for freedom:
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“We
here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of
the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth.”
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So we must do the same for them and fulfill the promise President Lincoln
made.
No one who defends America should ever feel forgotten.
Honoring our fallen means doing everything – absolutely everything –
possible to support our brothers and sisters in uniform. When we pledge
allegiance to our flag, we also pledge dedication to the incredible service
members who fight for our freedom every day.
At the USO, lifting up our
heroes is a privilege, and your support makes it possible: possible for a young
man on his first deployment to make a call home, for his face to light up when a
loved one answers on the other end of the line. Possible to transport a care
package to a woman on her fourth tour who misses the comforts of her family.
Possible to build a transition plan for a hero who has just come
home.
Memorial Day is about honor, both in memory and in
action. Thank you for helping us mark the occasion and continue to do
everything we can to honor every brave man and woman in uniform and those who
wore the uniform, but are no longer with us. I know they are grateful, and so
are all of us at the USO.
Alan Reyes
Senior Vice President,
Operations, Programs and Entertainment, USO
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