Joshua Wagner, Ret. Infantry Paratrooper; 82nd Airborne
♦As a veteran, I take great pride in Memorial Day and can’t help but take a few moments to reflect. When I mention this reflection to friends and family, they often assume that it revolves solely around my service. I quickly assure them that my reflection has nothing to do with me. Why would it? Memorial Day isn’t about mere service men and women such as myself. Oh no, it’s about heroes who are no more.
Today we stand in awe of men and women that have fallen on foreign battlefields in wars far too numerous to list. They answered a call. They gave of themselves. They left mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, sons, and daughters. They traveled to foreign countries from which they would never return. They did all this for one reason. They did it so that you and I didn’t have to. Had they not fought, bled, and died, we may not be here today celebrating this holiday. There would be no picnics, no vacation days, no cookouts, and no memorials. Today we do not celebrate our lives. No, we celebrate the lives of those who made ours possible. This country, as exceptional as it is, was not created on paper, but instead by the sheer will of those who refused to see it as anything else.
On this day, don’t merely say thank you to a veteran. Seek out the loved one of a hero who no longer walks among us. Tell that person that as you enjoy the celebrations of the day, you give your thanks and appreciation to them. Understand that as you go home tonight and kiss the cheek of the one you love so dearly, those individuals no longer have a cheek to kiss. Their loved one will not celebrate with them. They will not come home from work tomorrow. They will not coach little league, run for office, or watch their daughter marry the love of her life. They forfeited their rights so that we may enjoy ours in their place. If we ever forget those who have paid the ultimate price, we will cease to grasp the painful cost of freedom. If we forget this cost and those who paid it, we will cease to be free.
Joshua Wagner
US Army Nov 00’ – Nov 03’
Infantry Paratrooper; 82nd Airborne
