“HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD” – Inscription on the tomb of the unknown soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

O’er the land of the Free and and Home of the Brave.  Those words taken from Francis Scott Key’s 1814 poem resonate within the soul of many of us.  We understand that we live in a land where our individual liberties are protected by our Constitution.  These protections as laid out in the first 10 amendments to the Constitution are collectively known as The Bill of Rights.   

Every baby as they come into this world before even taking their breath is recognized as a citizen of the United States of America.  As such, even the smallest among us is instantaneously granted all the rights and privileges associated with being someone lucky enough to call this land home.

What many of us don’t understand, and probably will never fully comprehend, is the price of these freedoms.  From the battle of Normandy, to the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima American soldiers have fought and died to ensure the blessing of liberty remains for future generations.  Those fallen, both the named and the unknown, are who we remember this Memorial Day.

The last verse of ‘The Star Spangled Banner’  is one few American’s know but I feel it reflects exactly what Memorial Day is all about.  It reads:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

As you gather around the grill and patio, enjoying the company of friends and neighbors let the breeze in the air remind you that the wind of freedom has a price.  Then take a few moments in your pre-festivity prayer to remember those who willingly gave their life.