Many Americans will mark the unofficial start of summer the weekend of May 23rd. As barbecue grills get rolled back out and swimming pools get filled back up, I hope Americans will not forget the solemn reason we have a 3-day weekend – to celebrate Memorial Day.

Towards the end of the Civil War, Americans in both the South and the North began informal “Decoration Day” remembrances, in which flowers were placed on the graves of soldiers who had been killed in action. In 1868, the General for the Grand Army of the Republic formally issued an order establishing Memorial Day as an official Decoration Day. Over the next few decades, more and more states began recognizing “Memorial Days,” and after World War I, it evolved to become a day of remembrance for all soldiers who had been killed in action serving a cause greater than themselves.

Throughout America, communities will mark this solemn day by laying wreaths and flowers, marching in parades, and holding town gatherings to pay their respects to our nation’s fallen heroes. As President Trump noted in his speech at Fort McHenry National Monument in 2020, “Wherever the Stars and Stripes fly – at our schools, our churches, town halls, firehouses, and national monuments – it is made possible because there are extraordinary Americans who are willing to brave death so that we can live in freedom and live in peace.”

Missourians have one of the most special memorials anywhere in America. Jim Eddleman was a soldier who fought in the Tet Offensive in Vietnam who witnessed several of his comrades fall on the battlefield. He made a promise that he would ensure their names would not be forgotten. Jim worked with many other Missourians to build the National Veterans Memorial in Perryville. It is an exact replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Anyone who visits the Memorial in Perryville can tell Jim made good on his promise to honor his brothers-in-arms.

One of the best ways to honor these heroes was eloquently stated by one of our nation’s great communicators, President Ronald Reagan. In a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in 1982, President Reagan said, “The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we – in a less final, less heroic way – be willing to give of ourselves.”

So I hope that all of us join together to honor the men and women who have fallen in service to our great country. And if you know the family of a fallen hero, let them know on behalf of a grateful nation that we appreciate the ultimate sacrifice that they have made so that all of us and future generations may continue to live free in the greatest country on earth.