More than 124,000 American servicemen are buried overseas in overseas cemeteries in countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Italy, Luxembourg and the Philippines. Another 94,000 have been memorialized by the American Battle Monuments Commission as missing in action overseas, died at sea, or were buried at sea, during wartime. Hundreds of thousands more are buried here at home, on this hallowed ground. There have been more than 1.3 million military fatalities over the course of American history.

The rag-tag militia that somehow defeated the greatest military the world in 1791 eventually morphed into the strongest military in the history of the world. That fighting force was downsized recently, and is stretched to its limits, though is on the upswing again under President Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Through it all, we in the United States have always been blessed with fighting men (and women) of peerless character and resolve.

So, militia, Minutemen, Army, Navy, Marines, Leathernecks, Devil Dogs, Army Air Force, Air Force, the Big Red One, Coast Guard, Delta Force, Navy Seals, the Green Berets, Rangers, reserves, National Guard, etc. Whatever your designation and whatever your branch, wherever and whenever you served and wherever you are now, whether gracing Heaven or Earth: We thank you.

Or we should.

Elie Wiesel said: “Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.”

Without those who served, there would be no America.

And we should never forget that.

Here’s to you and your families on this Memorial Day.

God Bless.

Semper Fi.

Image: Wikipedia // public domain