Reflecting on Memorial Day

Each year, as May draws to a close and the days grow warmer, we gather with family and friends to enjoy the start of summer. However, Memorial Day is more than just a long weekend or a backyard barbecue. It is a solemn occasion to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our great nation.

Across Oklahoma and the entire United States, flags are flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon, wreaths are laid, and families remember their fallen loved ones. These acts of remembrance are not merely symbolic; they are a profound expression of gratitude and national unity. We are reminded that the freedoms we enjoy every day have been secured through extraordinary sacrifice.

Memorial Day is about more than honoring history. It is about carrying forward the legacy of those who gave everything for this country. Their courage and devotion to duty set an example for us all. Whether they served on foreign battlefields or here at home, they stood for the values that define our nation: freedom, justice, and a belief in something greater than oneself. Let us also not forget the families of the fallen, the Gold Star families, who bear a loss that words can never fully heal. Their strength and resilience inspire us all, and we owe them a debt that can never be repaid.

This Memorial Day, I encourage all Oklahomans to pause and reflect. Attend a local ceremony, visit a veterans' cemetery, or simply take a quiet moment of prayer or remembrance. Teach your children about the meaning of this day and let us carry forward the legacy of those who gave their lives by living with purpose, gratitude, and resolve.

Freedom is not free. It is earned, again and again, by those willing to give all. On this Memorial Day, may we honor that sacrifice not only in word but in deed—by striving to be worthy of the legacy they left behind. May God bless our fallen heroes, their families, and the United States of America.