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| "This week our nation celebrates the Memorial Day
holiday, a time when we pause to remember our veterans who have died defending
our country and our freedom. Our nation first began paying tribute
to fallen soldiers after the Civil War, and out of that tribute a solemn
and meaningful tradition was formed. The size of the services we
hold and the number of graves we decorate with flags have grown, but the
same pride, graciousness, and appreciation on the part of our nation for
what these brave men and women sacrificed remains solid.
"On this Memorial Day, we add some 150 new names to the list of fallen heroes: those who lost their lives during Operation Iraqi Freedom. People like Navy Corpsman Michael Vann Johnson, Jr. of Little Rock, who died while attending to a wounded soldier on the Battlefield in Iraq. Those brave men and women died fighting to free a nation, and to protect the freedom of their own. My thoughts and prayers go out to their families on this solemn remembrance. "Albert Einstein once said, "The strength of the Constitution lies entirely in the determination of each citizen to defend it. Only if every single citizen feels duty bound to do his share in this defense are the constitutional rights secure." "Right now our nation is under a heightened terror alert. Despite our success in the War on Terror, those who wish to inflict harm on our nation because of our ideals are still lurking, still planning, and still plotting to steal our American spirit. On this Memorial Day, we remember all of those who have given their lives for that spirit, in the name of freedom and democracy, but we also remember and honor those still fighting to protect it." |
