ON Memorial Day, we honor the men and women of our Commonwealth and of our nation who sacrificed their lives for a cause greater than themselves. Memorial Day is reserved to be that one day out of the year, we pay homage to the extraordinary expense of life in which our fellow comrades willed — so that our citizens are comforted with freedom and liberty…so that we…as citizens of the United Sates continue to enjoy the creature comforts of the American way of life.
Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was originally called in the localities in which it was celebrated, began as an occasion for decorating the graves of soldiers who died while fighting in the U.S. Civil war. This has expanded to become a holiday we now use to mourn our fallen heroes.
In essence, Memorial Day is a solemn day of reflection, honoring the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for American liberty and freedom. Beyond picnics and parades, this day is for remembering fallen soldiers…for honoring Gold Star families… and for reaffirming a national commitment to the peace and freedom they defended.
As a retired veteran myself, I know the sacrifices our service men and women make each day. As a two-time war veteran, I understand the hardship that comes with the duties that a Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airmen, or coast guardsmen, endure in combat. Yet nothing comes close to the ultimate sacrifice that our fellow veterans whom we honor today, have made. Indeed, remarkable and noble is the sacrifice of life these men and women made, and I am grateful that our nation continues to venerate their flair for defending our constitution and way of life.
Someone once mentioned that on Memorial Day, our tradition is to briskly raise the Stars and Stripes against the wind to the top of the staff and then solemnly lower it to the position of half-staff where it remains only till noon. The flag is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. Further explained, the half-staff position allows us to remember the more than one million women and men who gave their lives in service of their Nation. At noon, their memory is raised by us — the living — who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but rather to rise in their stead and continue the fight for liberty.
Key in all that we do on this solemn occasion is to also pay tribute to the families of our fallen heroes. How many mothers and wives, husbands and fathers, extended family and friends do we know who do their duty every day to ensure their loved one is remembered? They go about their lives each day with pictures on mantels and mementos of a life not fully lived. They go on accepting the fact — that their Soldier chose this life — the vivacity of service and so they understood that possibly their death could be a sacrifice for the sake of freedom. We just know that families left behind carry on their servicemember’s message, memorializing them like an unfolded flag.
Therefore, today is also a day we honor the families of those lost. We honor you who lost your loved one because you bear a load — a burden that only you can comprehend. Let us be clear that we are grateful for the support you gave your servicemember, so they could accomplish the mission of protecting the rest of us.
Dear friends, please note that is our responsibility as citizens to remember our Nation’s brave fallen men and women — whether they died on foreign lands in the heat of battle or after a lifetime in the uniform of our military. We vow never to forget them for we recognize all too much the cost of our freedom — for their service to this republic is the greatest gift of all.
President Ronald Reagan once said: “The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery…. As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor, shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. And let us also pledge to do our utmost to carry out what must have been their wish that no other generation of young men will ever have to share their experiences and repeat their sacrifice.”
In conclusion, we must never forget our fallen. So, let us always remember the sacrifices of those who fought here in our CNMI during World War II, and we of course honor those who served and fought beyond the riches of our island shorelines.
It has been said that the CNMI has a profound history of military service where its sons and daughters have heavily represented our nation in overseas conflicts. According to sources, there are 14 recognized fallen heroes from the CNMI that include: SGT Eddie L. Chen; SSG Wilgene T. Lieto; SPC Derence W. Jack; SGT Jesse Castro, Lance Corporal Adam Q. Emul, SPC Leeroy A. Camacho, PFC John D. Flores; PFC Victor M. Fontanilla; SPC Joe G. Charfauros Jr.; Seaman Anamarie San Nicolas Camacho; SGT Brian S. Leon Guerrero; SGT Julian F. Manglona; Senior Arman Audra P.M. Winkfield; and Corporal Dave M. Santos.
Long after the battlefield guns have silenced and the bombs stop exploding, the children of our fallen warriors will still be missing a parent. Spouses will be without their life-long partners, and parents will forevermore grieve for their sons and daughters who died young and early in life.
To end this editorial, I would like to recite a favorite poem by John Donne:
No man is an island, entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thine own or of thine friends were
Each man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know, for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
As I alluded to earlier, we here in the Commonwealth, also have our very own heroes who have fallen — who have died defending our being. So, we need to be present for them, as fellow Americans, as fellow people from these islands — as fellow citizens of our great Commonwealth. Because nobody can replace these fallen heroes especially through the eyes of their families. However, we can offer shoulders to cry on, assistance and support in many various means, and in many other ways we can assure them because at the end of the day, we want to promise them that the sacrifice their loved ones made will not ever be forgotten.
Si Yu’us Ma’se yan Ghilisao. Hooah!
