STORIES FROM AMERICA'S CONFLICTS

Sharing Stories As An Act of Love

For 140 years, Americans have gathered together on Memorial Day to honor our fallen heroes.  We honor America’s broken hearts:  those that were stilled in the cause of freedom, and those of the loved ones they left behind.  We honor their lives and their sacrifice and the dream they died for – that today’s children, and the children of tomorrow, will live in peace.

One way to honor our heroes is to share their stories and write a eulogy or remembrance.  Each veteran’s experience with war is an important part of history that should be passed on to future generations.  Sharing these experiences can have a powerful healing effect both for veterans and their families. This section of our website offers opportunities to tell your own personal story and to take comfort in the words of others in the spirit of remembrance and healing that marks Memorial Day.

The National Memorial Day Concert focuses on meaningful and representative stories of our heroes as we join together in remembering the hardships, grieving for the fallen and honoring those who sacrificed their lives.  Also in this section you can read a selection of stories from previous shows.

Jimmy Smits reminds us that “grief is a sacred wound” in his 2007 eulogy.

REFLECTIONS

“When the 21 gun salute was fired [for his best friend], my son stood at the coffin with the honor guard, saluting. In his dress uniform, with the stripes, the metals, and the pins and the terrible loss in his eyes, it became very painfully clear to me what our men and women in uniform sacrifice for our country. Never again will Memorial Day be a three-day weekend when I barbecue and cut the grass. Monday is our day as a nation to honor those who have made our way of life possible and who stand ever ready to defend it.”

Kevin Hlavaty
MI