Bunker Hill.

Valley Forge.

Cowpens.

Yorktown.

Lake Champlain 

Bladensburg.

New Orleans.

Veracruz.

Manassas.

Fredericksburg.

Shiloh.

Kennesaw.

Santiago.

Manila Bay.

Chateau Thierry. 

Belleau Wood.

Wake Island.

Corregidor.

Monte Cassino.

Bastogne.

Betio.

Shuri.

Pusan.

Inchon.

Koto-ri.

Hue.

Pleiku.

Beirut.

Khafji.

Tallil.

Nasiriyah.

Fallujah.

Khost.

Kandahar.

Those places and hundreds of more, and still even more that either don’t have a name or may just have a number and a geographical feature, such as Hill 452, are where American service members have given the last full measure of their devotion.

For some of the places named, the U.S. forces defeated their enemy. In some others, the enemy got the best of the U.S. But in all instances, Americans bravely faced enemy fire and made the ultimate sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

As a nation and a people, we will enjoy Memorial Day. For many of us, it is a day off from work and the unofficial start of summer.

But for many families, even now, they mark Memorial Day by remembering the ones who never made it home. Remember them and remember their families. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, but not without a cost and at times, the price has been heavy. Their sacrifices and the struggles and efforts of their brothers and sisters who returned to our shores are the reasons we can celebrate Memorial Day