Memorial Day highlights sacrifices made for us all

Published May 26, 2006
By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
421st Combat Training Squadron

FORT DIX, N.J. (AFPN) -- Just over 15 years ago, I watched a television show after operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm that highlighted the sacrifices military members made during that war.

I was so moved by the show that I immediately thought about what it would be like to join the military and do something as great as these military members had. What did they do? They gave their lives for their country. They gave the ultimate sacrifice.

At the time, I was working in a civilian job driving heavy equipment for a lumber company. I worked many long hours on that job. One week I worked almost 90 hours. After watching that show, however, I thought that any sacrifice I made at work didn’t come anywhere close to the sacrifices those servicemembers made.

Before Memorial Day 1991, I was at the Military Entrance Processing Station in Milwaukee, Wisc., signing up for delayed enlistment in the Air Force. By February 1992, I was on my way to starting my military career with that same TV show ringing in my head.

You see, that show highlighted the 293 military members who gave their lives in support of that operation. It spoke of the servicemembers, their families and what heroic acts they did for their nation.

To me, there is nothing more honorable than those who gave their lives in defense of our freedom, no matter what conflict -- the Gulf War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam or the war on terrorism.

That’s why Memorial Day is so important. It gives us a day to honor all those military members who made the ultimate sacrifice.

According to the Veterans Administration, Memorial Day was officially proclaimed three years after the Civil War ended, and first observed on May 30, 1868. Flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. Called “Decoration Day,” the day was established as “a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.” The history added, “It is believed May 30 was chosen as the date because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.”

Memorial Day has been set aside for us all to reflect on how someone’s ultimate sacrifice has been a sacrifice for us all. Heroes who have given their lives show me that freedom isn’t free.

That Gulf War television show I watched never mentioned Memorial Day, but it highlighted the sacrifice that Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen and others have made in defense of our freedoms. But now I don’t need a show to remind me of the importance of sacrifice.

Every time I learn a comrade in arms has given the ultimate sacrifice, I recognize his or her sacrifice and thank him or her for it. During Memorial Day this year, I urge everyone else to do the same. Take a moment to remember those who have sacrificed for us all. Don't wait for a television show to remind you of it.