Today is Memorial Day, on which we honor those who have made the supreme sacrifice for us.
Since before the United States was a nation, Americans have shouldered arms against our foes. Today, even as most of us enjoy a day off from work and the opportunity to thank God for those who safeguard us, tens of thousands of our neighbors are in far-off lands - risking their safety and, perhaps, giving their lives for us.
In cemeteries across the land and, yes, in resting places far from home, those who have made the supreme sacrifice lie. They rest in honor, remembered individually by friends, families, co-workers and neighbors - but also by a grateful nation.
Without them, the many other blessings we enjoy would have been stripped from us long ago. We owe these, our honored dead, far more than we ever can repay.
Today, however, we thank God for them - and add a prayer for their comrades in arms who still serve.
