Freedom Because of Sacrifice

In Congress, I work every day to make the American Dream more attainable by advancing commonsense policies that strengthen our communities, support working families, and preserve the values that make our nation great. 

Yet none of the work we do in Washington would matter without the sacrifices made by the brave men and women who have defended our country with their lives. On Monday, May 25th, Americans across Nebraska and our nation will gather to honor those heroes during Memorial Day ceremonies and moments of remembrance. 

Memorial Day is not simply a holiday marked by cookouts, ballgames, and the unofficial start of summer. It is a sacred day set aside to remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our nation so future generations could continue to live in freedom.  

A day born in the shadow of the Civil War, one of the most painful and divisive chapters in our nation’s history. For “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself,” said Brevet Lieut.-Col. Edmund B. Whitman, after he oversaw the collection of thousands of remains across the war-torn South and created mortuary records of reburials in new national cemeteries.   
 

Now, more than a century and a half later, those words still carry profound meaning. Even in a time of deep hardship, Americans understood the importance of coming together to honor those who had fallen in defense of the country they loved.  
Today, despite our differences, we remain united in gratitude for the courage, sacrifice, and devotion of the servicemen and women who never returned home. We also remember the families who endured the absence of a loved one during service and now carry the never ending weight of loss. Their sacrifice is woven into the story of our nation just as surely as the sacrifice of those we honor on Memorial Day.  
 

Every freedom we enjoy today—the freedom to worship, to speak freely, to raise a family, to pursue opportunity, and to live according to our beliefs—was secured at a tremendous cost. Generations of Americans placed duty above self, willingly stepping forward to defend liberties many of us too easily take for granted.  
 

Here in Nebraska, the values of service, humility, and love of country remain deeply rooted in our communities. Memorial Day offers an opportunity not only to remember the fallen, but also to reflect on the extraordinary price paid to preserve the freedoms we enjoy each day.  
 

As families gather across our state this Memorial Day, may we all take time to pause in quiet remembrance. Attend a local ceremony, visit a veterans cemetery, fly the American flag, or simply offer a prayer for the fallen and for the families who continue to bear the burden of sacrifice.  
 

Because of their courage, our nation has endured. Because of their sacrifice, freedom lives on.