Sunday, May 24, 2009
Memorial Day is the most important American holiday in the Nugent household.
We know that without the sacrifices that underlie Memorial Day, there would be no Independence Day, no freedoms, no America. The entire world would be a much darker place — one of tyranny, slavery and oppression.
Memorial Day is our day to give thanks and remember those heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that freedom’s flame burns brightly. They are the very tip of freedom’s lance. All good people owe them dearly.
From Bunker Hill to the walls of the Alamo, to the farm fields at Gettysburg, to the beaches at Normandy, to the Afghanistan mountains and every other piece of hallowed ground where Americans have fought and died, Old Glory still proudly dances in the wind of freedom.
American warriors ensured that not only would we continue to be free but that America would continue to be a beacon of freedom for all the world.
Our enemies can knock down our buildings. But mortar, brick and steel do not America make.
What makes America is the irrepressible spirit and undying love of freedom.
It is the American warrior who is willing to fight and die to protect the God-given rights of all people.
On this Memorial Day I encourage each of you to spend a few moments and quietly offer a prayer of thanks to those who paid for your freedom with their lives.
The next time you have the chance, take your children and walk reverently through a military cemetery. Stop at each white cross. Read the names on the tombstones.
These are the names of freedom.
It is our duty as parents and citizens to ensure that our children and grandchildren know that freedom is not free, that it is paid for with the blood and lives of warriors.
To quote President Reagan: “We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so that we may always be free.”
Memorial Day is the most important American holiday. May God eternally bless the American warrior.
Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host. Contact him directly at tednugent.com.
