Memorial Day is the day that makes possible all other American days. Without the sacrifice we honor at patriots’ graves in churchyards and national cemeteries across the country, there would be no America.
That tradition has continued as each generation of servicemen and women has stepped forward to answer their nation’s call and preserve American freedom. Our lives, our liberty, our values and our way of life are secured only by the heroism and sacrifice of those who wear our nation’s uniform. Despite calls to cut defense spending from both the left and the right, America’s obligation remains to be the leader of the free world and the arsenal of democracy. China is floating a new battleship every month. Russia is waging an unconscionable war of aggression in Ukraine. North Korea is firing missiles again, Iran is enriching uranium, and Middle Eastern countries are drawing closer to China and Russia by the day.
Nearly two and a half centuries after our country’s founding, America still stands strong, proud and free. We remain a nation that cherishes liberty, a nation whose spirit cannot be broken, a nation that triumphantly holds up its values as a model for the world to follow. We remain the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.