To me this is the hardest post to type. How do I even try to express gratitude to those who are no longer with us, their family, their decedents, their friends, or anyone else who was blessed to have them in their lives?
On this day, I just want to say Thank You! Thank you to everyone who died serving and everyone who has lost a loved one in the military.
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:13
John, here are some ways to express your gratitude to those who gave the full measure of devotion.
1) Ask if you can volunteer at your local Veteran’s Cemetery, prior to Memorial Day weekend members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, place flags on EVERY grave at Arlington National Cemetery.
2) Take your friends and family to your city or town’s war memorial and look at all the names inscribed on it. You may end up finding the name of a distance relative you never knew you had.
3) See if there are any Gold Star Families in your community, those are the families who sent loved ones to war and they did not come back. See if there is anything you can do for them or have your children write an essay about their loved one so that others know of their sacrifice.
These are just some small, simple suggestions from a former member of the military who lost 47 brothers on a fateful day in April. It is those men whom I honor this Memorial Day weekend.