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Friends,
As Memorial Day approaches, many of you are preparing for barbecues, a fun day on the lake, and the unofficial start of summer. While these things are all enjoyable, it’s important that we pause and reflect on the true purpose of this day.
John 15:13 tells us that, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
This Bible verse is exactly what Memorial Day is all about: sacrifice. We honor and remember the sacrifice of all those service members who gave their lives in defense of our freedom. But Memorial Day is also about the surviving spouses and other family members who have been left behind. They pay a heavy price so that we can live freely and enjoy our way of life. The empty chair at the kitchen table constantly serves as a painful reminder of the irreplaceable void left by their loved one.
This year, my thoughts and prayers are especially with the families of the four Green Berets who were stationed at Fort Liberty/Fort Bragg and killed in action during an ambush by a terrorist force in Niger on October 7, 2017: Bryan Black, Dustin Wright, LaDavid Johnson, and Jeremiah Johnson.
Every day, I wear a black metal bracelet on my wrist with each of their names engraved on it. Their surviving team members honored me with it in 2017 and it serves as a constant reminder of their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of their families.
I am also thinking of the families of the 13 brave U.S. service members killed during the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. These fallen heroes were members of the Marines, Navy, and Army - deployed to Afghanistan to rescue Americans and our allies. They faced extremely dangerous circumstances, and they made our great country proud.
Among those killed was Staff Sergeant Ryan C. Knauss, a member of the 1st Special Forces Command 8th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Liberty/Fort Bragg. He left behind a wife in our community, as well as extended family in Tennessee and Florida. His loss is deeply felt by the entire Fort Liberty/Fort Bragg community. Our nation will never forget his sacrifice, along with the sacrifices of the other twelve service members who lost their lives that day:
Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, 31, of Daggett County, Utah
Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts
Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California
Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Riverside County, California
Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, 23, of Red Oak, Iowa
Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David Espinoza, 20, of Laredo, Texas
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, 20, of Wentzville, Missouri
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California
Navy Hospital Corpsman Max Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio
This Memorial Day, and every day, let’s honor the brave men and women who have laid down their lives for our country, as well as their surviving family members. May we all resolve to never forget the stories and legacies of these fallen heroes, and recommit ourselves to always live up to the sacrifices made for our freedoms.
Until Next Time,
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