Happy Memorial Day

I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend and were able to take time to honor those who have given their lives in service to our country. Our national security and constitutional liberties have been bought at an enormous price by generations of men and women willing to risk everything to protect their fellow citizens.

Last year my husband and I had the opportunity to walk the beaches at Normandy, the site of the historic D-Day invasion in 1944. This picturesque area saw thousands of casualties when over 150,000 Allied forces landed to begin the liberation of France. Visiting this area was a dramatic reminder of the enormous sacrifices required to achieve victory in WWII and to maintain American liberty and security ever since.

In honor of Memorial Day, I want to give special thanks to the Missourians serving in our armed forces at home or abroad. You are the reason we continue to enjoy the peace, security, and freedom that we too often take for granted. The following poem is a powerful reminder of the debt of gratitude we owe veterans and service members who have made the rights and privileges that we enjoy possible.

It is the soldier, not the minister

Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the soldier, not the reporter

Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet

Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer

Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer

Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier, not the politician

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the soldier who salutes the flag,

Who serves beneath the flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

-Charles M. Province