Weekly Column

May 23 2013

FOR LOVE OF COUNTRY

Each year, Nebraskans mark Memorial Day in a number of different ways. Quiet ceremonies at cemeteries, Main Street parades filled with children and veterans proudly waving American flags, and backyard barbecues and neighborhood get-togethers are common traditions across the state. 

This year, whether you are attending a patriotic service or spending the day making memories with cherished friends and family, it is important to pause and reflect upon the great courage and valor of America’s fallen servicemen and women. 

We set aside Memorial Day each year as a federal holiday to recall the names of the fallen, to honor their memory, and to renew our own belief in the immutable values for which they fought and died here at home and in far-flung lands across the globe. 

As General Colin Powell once said, “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”

Each headstone, from those resting beneath the trees at the Arlington National Cemetery all the way to the cliffs overlooking the beaches of Normandy at the battle site’s American Cemetery, represents a different service member with a distinct story – but all a common honor. The flowers and flags freshly placed at their gravesides illustrate the love of those they left behind, who continue to mourn their loss decades later. 

Americans have become all too familiar with the somber, but dignified ceremonies of bringing the fallen home. We recognize the images of the flag-draped coffins arriving to Dover Air Force Base; the sound of “taps” coming from a lone trumpet sends chills down our spines; the folding of the flag and the presentation of it to grieving mothers and young widows still makes us well-up with tears, no matter how many times we’ve watched the simple, but holy gesture. 

Reflecting on this day and its meaning, you can’t help but feel moved and proud – proud to be a citizen of a Nation so brave, so generous, and so free.

As we honor the heroes we have lost, we also express our admiration and gratitude to our active duty men and women deserving our thanks and praise. We continue to pray for their safety and for their families eagerly awaiting their return home. These loved ones also know firsthand that freedom is a gift from God that must be protected, often at an immeasurable cost. 

This Memorial Day, I will have the opportunity to visit local cemeteries in the Scottsbluff area and attend the dedication of the new “Fallen Heroes Memorial” at Western Nebraska Community College. It will be an honor to pay tribute to the service and legacy of Nebraska’s military men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

I also look forward to visiting with many of Nebraska’s veterans while in Scottsbluff. These men and women, many of whom comprise the dwindling ranks of America’s “Greatest Generation,” still bear the physical and invisible scars of war. And they, perhaps more than anyone, understand the cost of war and honor the loss of those at whose side they fought.

Let us never forget the meaning behind this day, or take for granted the freedom Americans continue to enjoy because of the courage, patriotism, and extraordinary sacrifice of our fallen heroes.

As President James Garfield once said, “For love of country, they accepted death and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”

To all who serve and have served, to all the fallen: thank you.

Thank you for taking part in our democratic process, and I’ll visit with you again next week.

Deb Fischer
United States Senator

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