Our
Flag Has Meaning
A U.S. naval officer offers some stirring Memorial
Day thoughts about the Stars and Stripes.
Memorial
Days
"For some soldiers every day is Memorial Day
... preparing their fallen brothers and sisters-in-arms
for the long trip home."
Buddy Finder
Want to reconnect with a long-lost fellow veteran? Search a database of over 20 million members.
Veterans Stories
Discover America's rich military history through these letters and anecdotes.
Veterans
Benefits & Resources
Learn about the benefits you may qualify for. You've served your country well -- let your country serve you.
Museum and Memorial Guides
You can honor the U.S. military on Memorial Day with a visit
to a local museum or memorial.
Military and Veteran Discounts
Discounts on quality products and services are a 'thank you' for service from America's top companies.
Spotlight: The World War
II Memorial
Volunteering
for Victory
In honor of the May 29 opening of the World War
II Memorial in Washington DC, the Red Cross presents
stories and memorabilia from the Greatest Generation.
Thomas
Hayden: A Lasting Tribute
"I decided to visit the new World War II Memorial
before its official opening this coming Memorial
Day."
Joe
Galloway: A Moment of Silence
"There is a sadness in the land this Memorial
Day. We have added nearly 1,000 names to the million
who have died for us, for our country. Every one
of them is a deeply felt loss."
Spotlight: Paralyzed Veterans of America
Johnnie L. Williams entered the U.S. Army on June
13, 2001. Following basic training at Fort Benning,
GA, Williams was stationed at Fort Gordon, GA, and
received training in satellite communications. He
completed that training as a private first class
(E-3), and Williams was sent to Germany for three
months. In February 2003, he was deployed to Iraq.
He served in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
On May 5, 2003, Williams became injured when the
Humvee he was driving in a convoy was sideswiped
by what is believed to have been a civilian-operated
vehicle. He lost control of his Humvee and in the
accident that resulted, Williams sustained a L3/L4-level
spinal cord injury. He was retired at the rank of
sergeant (E-5).
Williams was honorably discharged after incurring
his injury. A native of Tampa, FL, Williams is currently
undergoing rehabilitation at the Spinal Cord Injury
Center at the Tampa VA Medical Center.
Honor America's Fallen With a Moment of Remembrance
Along with other Americans, you are encouraged to observe the
National Moment of Remembrance on Memorial Day, Monday, May 31, 2004 at
3:00 p.m. local time (duration: one minute). The time 3:00 p.m. was chosen
because it is the time when many Americans are enjoying their freedoms on
the national holiday.
The Moment does not replace the traditional Memorial Day observances. It
is intended to a be a unifying act of remembrance for Americans of all ages.
As you participate in the Moment you are helping reclaim Memorial Day for
the noble and sacred reason for which it was intended—to honor those who
died in service to our Nation.
How to Participate
Participation is voluntary and informal. You may observe in your own way
a Moment of Remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever you are doing
for a moment of silence or listening to "Taps."
You may also organize the observance more formally at such places as your
neighborhood, local pool, picnic grounds, etc., for one minute of remembrance.
You may ring a bell to signify the beginning and the end of the Moment or
tune in to a local radio station that is observing the Moment with the playing
of "Taps" or "On This Day." If you are driving a vehicle, you may turn on
your headlights.
Why
- To remind all Americans of the importance of remembering those who sacrificed
for their freedom and what it means to be an American.
- To provide Americans throughout the world an opportunity to join this
expression of gratitude in an act of unity.
- To make Memorial Day more relevant, especially to younger Americans.
For more information on the Moment of Remembrance activities or the White
House Commission on Remembrance, go to the Moment of Remembrance Website.
Memorial Day Message from Secretary of State Colin Powell
Every Memorial Day, my sister, Marilyn, and I would put on our Sunday best
and accompany our parents to Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx to visit the
graves of family members. Like all kids, my sister and I were happy to have
the day off from school, and I can't say we were in a solemn frame of mind.
But taking part in that annual rite of remembrance gave me my first sense
of the importance of honoring those who have gone before.
I grew up and chose a soldier's life. I lost close friends in war. Later,
I commanded young men and women who went willingly into harm's way for our
country, some never to return. A day doesn't pass that I don't think of
them. Paying homage to the fallen holds a deeply personal meaning for me
and for anyone who ever wore a uniform.
In 1990, when I was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I took my Soviet
counterpart, Gen. Mikhail Moiseyev, around the United States. I wanted to
give him a better understanding of what America is all about. We started
in Washington, D.C. I especially wanted to take him to the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial.
But I didn't take him there directly. First, I took him to the Jefferson
Memorial. I pointed out a passage from the Declaration of Independence carved
into its curved wall. All who have served in our armed forces share its
sentiment. "And for the support of this Declaration," Jefferson wrote, "...
we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour." Then
I asked the general to look up. Above the statue of Jefferson, in 2-foot-high
letters on the base of the monument's dome, is this inscription: "I have
sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny
over the mind of man."
Here, I said, you see the foundation of America, a nation where "We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights." I told the
general that like Washington, Jefferson and all our Founding Fathers, Americans
of every generation are ready to fight and die for those unalienable rights.
Then, to show Gen. Moiseyev the kind of sacrifices Americans are willing
to make, I took him to the Lincoln Memorial, where Lincoln's words at Gettysburg
are engraved. There, Lincoln said we had fought the bloodiest war in our
history so our nation "shall have a new birth of freedom" and so "government
of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth."
I wanted Gen. Moiseyev to see how sacred those words are to Americans.
I showed the general the final lines of Lincoln's second inaugural address:
"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right,
as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we
are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne
the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan..."
I then walked the general part of the way down the Lincoln Memorial's steps
to the place from which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have
a Dream" speech. I explained that the unfinished work of which Lincoln spoke
was still unfinished a century later, so from the very spot on which we
stood, King challenged his fellow Americans to make the promise of our Founding
Fathers come true for all Americans.
Only now was I ready to take Gen. Moiseyev to the Vietnam memorial. We walked
the short distance from the Lincoln Memorial to the Wall. I showed the general
how to find someone's name on it. I looked up Maj. Tony Mavroudis. Tony
and I had grown up together on the streets of New York. We went to college
together. We became infantrymen together. And in 1967, on his second tour
of duty in Vietnam, Tony was killed. The memorial book directed us to Panel
28 East, and there we found ANTONIO M MAVROUDIS carved into the black granite.
It was an emotional moment for me, and not just for me. Gen. Moiseyev reached
out gently and touched the Wall. The infantryman in him understood.
Thankfully, our forces no longer face the prospect of war with the Soviet
Union. Today, we are cooperating with Russia's evolving democracy and with
other former foes against 21st-century dangers common to us all. Today's
deadly threats come from rogue powers and stateless networks of extremists
who have nothing but contempt for the sanctity of human life and for the
principles civilized nations hold dear.
I do not know or care what terrorists and tyrants make of our monuments
to democracy and the memorials we dedicate to our dead. What's important
is what the monuments and memorials say to us. They can teach us much about
the ideas that unite us in our diversity, the values that sustain us in
times of trial, and the dream that inspires generation after generation
of ordinary Americans to perform extraordinary acts of service. In short,
our monuments and memorials tell us a great deal about America's commitment
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all.
The haunting symbolism of the 168 empty chairs at the Oklahoma City National
Memorial, the heartbreaking piles of shoes in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum, the carefully tended headstones bearing crosses, crescents and Stars
of David standing row-on-row in Arlington and our other national cemeteries
- all speak to the value we place on human life.
The Vietnam Women's Memorial of the three servicewomen and the wounded GI;
the Korean War Veterans Memorial's haggard, windblown patrol trudging up
the rugged terrain; and the memorial of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima do
not glorify war - they testify to the glory of the human spirit.
The Civil War battlefields and the monument in Boston to Robert Gould Shaw
and his 54th Massachusetts Regiment of Negro soldiers who rode together
into the jaws of death for the cause of justice tell us of the price past
generations have paid so we might live in a more perfect union. They remind
us also of the work our generation must do.
This Memorial Day weekend, we will join in celebrating the opening of the
National World War II Memorial honoring the great generation of Americans
who saved the world from fascist aggression and secured the blessings of
liberty for hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Today, their descendants are fighting the global war against terrorism,
serving and sacrificing in Afghanistan and Iraq and at other outposts on
the front lines of freedom. The life of each and every one of them is precious
to their loved ones and to our nation. And each life given in the name of
liberty is a life that has not been lost in vain.
In time, lasting memorials will stand where the Twin Towers once etched
New York City's skyline, near the west side of the Pentagon, and in the
Pennsylvania field where doomed heroes died on Sept. 11, 2001, using their
last moments to save the lives of others and most probably the Capitol or
the White House - symbols of our living democracy.
All of us lead busy lives. We have little time to pause and reflect. But
I ask of you: Do not hasten through Memorial Day. Take the time to remember
the good souls whose memories are a blessing to you and your family. Take
your children to our memorial parks and monuments. Teach them the values
that lend meaning to our lives and to the life of our nation. Above all,
take the time to honor our fellow Americans who have given their last full
measure of devotion to our country and for the freedoms we cherish.
The Gathering Of Eagles
We come as a gathering of Eagles
We are warriors of sorts every one
We have flown from the far horizons
To rest from our days in the sun
We have spread our wings over oceans
Swept the earth with our gaze
Answered the call to our duty
Given the world our best days
History stands as our witness
To battles we have fought and won
The staff that carries our banner
Is bloodied by the deeds we have done
We left our comrades on foreign soil
Their souls now rest in God's hands
They are the spent generation
Their blood is mixed with the land
Though our feathers are ruffled and gray
The beat of our wings is not stilled
Now we must fly to the end of the sky
To see the dream of peace fulfilled (c) James W. Ferris
God And Grunts
Thank God and grunts for our freedom today.
G.I.s and Jesus for sacrifices they gave.
Thank the Lord and the LRRPs who paid the great price.
The Savior and sailors... in fact, thank 'em twice.
Thank the flyers and the gunners who flew cover high.
And a thank you to He who pilots the sky.
Thank the Great Healer and the medics if you would.
For giving themselves for others, for doing all they could.
Thanks to Mary and to mothers for giving their sons.
One to the cross and many others to guns.
Give thanks to the Almighty and the artillery.
For our flag and our country and keeping them free.
Thanks to the Creator and thanks to the Corps.
For making safe our families and for so much more.
Thanks to the heroes and the Heavenly Host.
For bringing us victory when we've needed it most.
For our lives and the liberty to watch Grandkids play,
Thank God and the grunts for allowing us this day. Randy E. Richmond
(May 1, 2001)
