Since the Revolutionary War, it has been estimated that 1.346 million American Patriots pledged and delivered their lives to make the ultimate sacrifice in combat to defend their brothers in arms while protecting our Republic and its values.  Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery; it was about coming together as one nation to honor those who gave their all.  On May 30, 2011 millions of Americans paused in solemn reverence, they participated in respectful commemorations across the nation, in order to remember those who for 235 years, by their actions, have protected and defended the rule of law enshrined in the US Constitution.  

Those who have gone before us, have entrusted us to safeguard and be the caretakers of the most precious liberties and freedoms we all enjoy. General Douglas MacArthur’s description of the fallen in his Farewell Address to the Corp of Cadets at West Point on May 12, 1962 is so appropriate on Memorial Day: “From one end of the world to the other, he has drained deep the chalice of courage”.  If you click on the below listed link you will be able to view scenes that honor military personnel of all services who were lost in combat, and you will also be able to listen to a stirring rendition of “Mansions of The Lord” by the West Point Glee Club.

http://youtu.be/47NW7nu9BnU

Very few Americans are as articulate when trying to relate the depth of meaning that Memorial Day holds for the families of those who were lost in combat as was Lt Gen John F. Kelly, USMC, Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, when he addressed the Semper Fi Society of Missouri on November 13, 2010. None of those individuals present who heard Lt Gen Kelly’s address could have possibly understood the enormous grief Lt Gen Kelly held quietly within himself as he spoke; his address was given just four days after, his son, Lt Robert Kelly, USMC, was killed by an IED during his 3rd Combat tour in Iraq.  During Lt Gen Kelly’s address, he never mentioned the loss of his own son.  We honor all those American Patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice, those US military personnel involved in combat who today go “In Harm’s Way “ in Iraq and Afghanistan, all military personnel serving in the US Armed Forces who continue to protect and defend the Republic, and the 26 million Veterans who, at one point in their lives wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including their life.”    

Semper Fidelis,

Joseph R. John, Chairman, Combat Veterans For Congress PAC