“3 p.m. on May 31 is the national time to pay tribute to the nation’s heroes, but it is about 6 a.m. here in the CNMI. If you go to church, please include our heroes and their families in your prayers,” Coleman said.
On May 31, Coleman is inviting everybody to join the Memorial Day ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Marpi at 9 a.m.
“Please be there as we pay tribute to our fallen veterans and commend them for their unselfish dedication in defending our country,” Coleman said.
This year’s Memorial Day speaker is Col. Tod R. Fingal, vice commander of the 36th Wing, Andersen Air Force Base on Guam.
Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos urged the community to support and honor the troops, veterans and their families around the world by signing a proclamation declaring May 25-31, 2010 as Memorial Week in the governor’s conference room on Capital Hill yesterday.
The proclamation stated that for over 200 years, Americans have defended the nation’s security and protecting the founding principles of democracy and equal justice under the law.
“On Memorial Day, we honor those who have paid the ultimate price in defense of these freedoms.”
According to the proclamation, members of the U.S. armed forces have placed the nation’s safety before their own for generations —“from the first shots fired at Lexington and Concord to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
“We bear the burden of responsibility to ensure that the sacrifices of our heroes will not have been in vain. This means that as we uphold the ideals for which many have given their last full measure of devotion, the United States must never waver in its determination to defend itself in protecting its liberty and home and abroad, and to pursue world peace,” it stated.
Present during the proclamation signing yesterday were Saipan Mayor Donald Flores, veterans, mayor’s office staff, Miss Liberation Queen candidates, and members of the Memorial Day committee.
