Keep alive the spirit of those who died fighting for our freedom

Each time a service member dies in an armed conflict, it tears a hole in a family forever. A son or daughter, sister or brother, husband, or wife, is lost to their loved ones, their contributions to that family ceasing forever.

Some solace, though quite small, comes when that service member, who paid the ultimate cost to protect their country and their family from a ruthless enemy, is remembered on occasions such as Memorial Day. Names are spoken, graves visited, memories shared. The loss is experienced all over again by those who knew the fallen; the impact of that deceased family member or friend on the living is absorbed by the younger generations who will, hopefully, continue to honor their sacrifice. At the same time, their deeds and sacrifice are honored not only by those who knew them or know of them, but by all freedom-loving people wise enough to understand that if the honored dead had not stood ready to perish, all of us might have perished, or maybe even worse, live a terrible existence today without freedom and hope.

Veterans know too well of the brave sacrifice of the military members of our nation, who came together on foreign shores in their millions across time for a common cause to save peoples and restore nations. It should not only be veterans and the families of those that have suffered a loss that honor their sacrifice. Even to this day, graves at American military cemeteries in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are tended by generations of individual families who choose to show their gratitude to some young American soldier or airman who decided to risk their life for their freedom.

All of us Americans should do no less, and there are many simple ways to do this. Attend one of the Memorial Day ceremonies in Kissimmee, St. Cloud, or Celebration, or watch one on television. Visit veteran’s graves in a local cemetery, or the World War II Bataan-Corregidor Memorial in Kissimmee’s Lakefront Park. Read an article or a chapter of a book that describes an individual tale of sacrifice during a past war or one of the many deadly incidents that continue to occur across the globe. Your act of remembrance will keep alive the spirit of those who died fighting for our freedom.

Terry Lloyd is a freelancer writer for the News-Gazette and an Air Force veteran from St. Cloud.