MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, S.C. --
“They, and we, are the legacies of an unbroken
chain of proud men and women who served their country with honor, who waged war
so that we might know peace, who braved hardship so that we might know opportunity,
who paid the ultimate price so that we might know freedom,” said President
Barack Obama during a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in
2009.
Memorial
Day holds a sacred spot on the calendar. Every year on the last Monday of May,
Americans pause to remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice
for our nation.
Ever
since the start of the Revolutionary War, patriots have served to defend
America’s and other nation’s freedom. Memorial Day is a day to commemorate
their sacrifices.
The
holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, originated as
Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868. It was established as a
time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.
“Today,
we are blessed to have young men, women, and families here who understand the
price of freedom, and are willing to place America before themselves,” said
Col. Peter D. Buck, the commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station
Beaufort.