This column is the text of a Memorial Day address I was asked to give at the Field of Valor in Moorpark, California. May it again inspire us all to never forget.
War is hell. Sadly, war at times is necessary. Men and women die is those wars, and on days like today, we remember those who gave up all their tomorrows to keep us free to have so many more.

What must one say in a Memorial Day speech or any day of remembrance? President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was only 272 words long, and yet it has been treasured for over a century as one of the best speeches ever given.

Even now, our debt to the heroic men and valiant women who died in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our enduring gratitude. This is not Veterans Day, it’s not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom and those who bore that cost.

I never served in the military. I was born at the end of World War II when my father was quartermaster of Tyndall field in Panama City, Florida. He was a major in the army air corp. My son and one of my grandsons have both served in the US Army. Thankfully, none of them gave up their lives in service to our land, but that may not be the case for some of you here today. it’s been said that as citizens of this great country, we need to regard all of our soldiers as our children, so that as our own beloved sons and daughters, we might feel deeply the loss of every last one of those who have died in service to our nation.

We not only remember; we honor them for their valor. In the words of General George S. Patton: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived.” I think we must do both.

So many mothers and wives, husbands and fathers, extended family and friends go about life every day remembering loved one no longer with us. They are reminded by pictures on mantels and mementos of a life not fully lived. At some level they understand that their soldier chose a life of service and understood the potential of their own death. So today, we also honor you, the families of those who lost loved ones, for you bear a burden that only you can comprehend. We are grateful for the love and support you gave your soldier.

General Norman Schwarzkopf once observed: “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” With that in mind, may we not only remember those we honor today at this ceremony, but may we keep our soldiers who are deployed defending our freedom, and their families, in our thoughts and prayers.

There is no more fitting way to end this than with the treasured final words of Lincoln on the fields of Gettysburg in November of 1863. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.”

Let us echo the line from Lee Greenwood’s patriotic tribute: “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” It’s been said that our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.

God bless our great nation. God bless and embrace those who gave their all and the families who pay the continuing cost for that sacrifice. Finally, God bless each of you for taking the time to remember.


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Ron White is a former naval intelligence officer. He also happens to be a two-time US memory champion. Yes, they actually hold championships for memory. You can hand Ron a completely randomly shuffled deck of 52 cards and after he looks at them for one minute, he can set them back down on the table and tell you the order of those cards both frontwards and backwards. That’s the kind of memory he has. As the founder of America’s Memory (check him out here), Ron decided to use that memory to honor our fallen heroes. Having served in Afghanistan himself, Ron decided to memorize every single US service member killed in Afghanistan. His story and his dedication to remembering his fallen brothers and sisters is incredible and he tells us all about it on the latest episode of the American Freedom Tour Podcast (which you can subscribe to here). Watch the video below.