By Douglas V. Gibbs
Today, two days before Memorial Day 2025, I am in Minnetrista, Minnesota. I am hours away from delivering a presentation tied to my latest book, God in the Constitution (buy the book at Amazon). Typically, in the past, I would be using Memorial Day weekend to visit a couple of friends and my grandfather at the Memorial Cemetery in Riverside, California.
At the moment, I am also preparing for my radio program on KMET 1490-AM. As I went through my notes, Memorial Day dominated them.
Memorial Day on Monday will be a day as it usually is when folks that may not typically go out of their way to thank vets will do so. Throughout the country our our veterans, and active military, will be thanked for their service. I appreciate the sentiment as a former military member, myself. The thing is, that is not what Memorial Day is about. It’s not about thanking vets or active military personnel, it’s not primarily about having a day off, and it’s not primarily about having a bar-b-que. Those things are good, and they are fine things to do on Memorial Day, but it’s important we set aside quiet time to remember what Memorial Day is really all about. Memorial Day is about our fallen. It is about honoring those heroes who died while in service to our country.
Memorial Day is about those citizen soldiers who comprised 3% of the colonists who were willing to stand against the greatest military power of the day to fight for the independence of a new union of states.
Memorial Day is about those fighting men of the American Revolution that often wore no shoes, and weren’t exactly sure what they had gotten themselves into. They fought a well-armed professional military with limited supplies, and basic weaponry. They pledged, despite the odds against them, their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for an idea – a new grand experiment based on the principles of liberty, self-governance, and the laws of nature and of nature’s God.
Memorial Day is about a young military who, to protect our trade-routes and sea-going vessels, stormed the shores of Tripoli.
Memorial Day is about the second revolution where, during the War of 1812, the young military once again faced off with the most powerful military in the world, against all odds, and out-gunned. Yet, those brave soldiers were willing to give up their lives, if necessary, for an idea called freedom.
Memorial Day is about those brave soldiers who fought to support Americans during the westward expansion, against fierce opposing forces, and incredible numbers; and those Americans who died in the Mexican-American War, a war of liberation for territories under the iron fist of a bloody Mexican dictator named Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
Memorial Day is about the brothers that fought their brothers in a War Between the States that defined America’s resolve to truly reveal the meaning of the phrase: All Men Are Created Equal.
Memorial Day is about the Rough Riders who stormed San Juan Hill, and the brave Americans who did all that was necessary to protect America’s interests in the war with Spain merely thirty years after the severe weakening of America’s forces from the War Between The States.
Memorial Day is about the brave warriors in a world war that was supposed to be the war to end all wars; one that America did not have to enter, but did to protect Europe against the war machines of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.
Memorial Day is about the greatest generation as they gave their lives in yet another defense of freedom in Europe, and this time also in the Pacific, as they fought against the tyranny of the Axis Powers during World War II.
Memorial Day is about the Americans who served to stop the spread of communism in Korea and Vietnam, bravely putting their lives on the line when the politicians were unwilling to fight to win.
Memorial Day is about those Americans who gave their lives during the Cold War – a war that was often not cold, and a war that was won because of our resolve to remain strong in the face of the enemy.
Memorial Day is about those Americans who served in the Persian Gulf at a time before we fully understood what we were up against – doing it simply to protect a smaller nation from the advancing tyranny of a dictator.
Memorial Day is about those Americans who extended, or entered service, after September 11, 2001, for the purpose of defending our soil against an enemy we still understood very little at the time.
Memorial Day is about the gunfire in the village, and the explosions on the roadway in the faraway lands. Memorial Day is about the heroes who, knowing the dangers and the risks, and believing deeply in the cause of liberty, gave their lives for the freedom of people they didn’t even know and have never met.
Memorial Day is about our fallen. It is a day for prayers and reflection. It is about thanking those we can no longer thank in person. It is about visiting the cemeteries where they lie, dropping off flowers and American Flags at their graves. Kneeling in prayer, and dropping tears on their name plates as we remember their sacrifice.
My grandfather, World War II Veteran Thurman Douglas Clark, and my dear friends, Vietnam Army Veteran Paul Young, and Vietnam Navy Veteran Bill Prouty, rest at Riverside National Cemetery in Southern California, surrounded by heroes – surrounded by our blessed fallen who gave their lives so that we may live in liberty.
Memorial Day is about an idea called freedom, and remembering those who gave their lives to protect that idea. Enjoy the day, visit with friends and family, eat with smiles and love for one another, but remember the reason for the day off. Remember that it is about Americans who signed on a dotted line their willingness to give their lives for liberty, and then faced that destiny in the name of love for America and what this country represents.
Amen
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
