Memorial Day honors the sacrifice made by generations of servicemen and women to protect us, our values, and our way of life. In the course of their duty, they laid down their lives for us. It falls to us to remember them, their stories and those they left behind. And, perhaps more importantly, to be citizens fully worthy of their sacrifice. 

This year, our duty is more difficult.  We cannot gather to participate in ceremonies or to march in parades.  But we are reminded, terribly, of unexpected loss, of national upheaval and of fear. Of all of those things that drove the best amongst us to volunteer, time and again, to fight and die for us.

So we must honor the memory of our fallen in whatever way we can. This year, in the face of anxiety, turmoil and division, we can rededicate ourselves to earning our national inheritance by stewarding our communities, large and small. We can give, in small measure, to the national project that took all from some. 

While everything now is different, join me in what must be eternal: honoring the memory of the fallen, thanking those who served, and making ourselves deserving of their service and sacrifice.