Memorial Day, in America’s 250th year, has given me some time to pause and really think about how my perspective on sacrifice and the American Idea has evolved over the years. Growing up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, I only knew one Veteran, my grandfather, who served briefly just after the Korean War. I wasn’t in the Scouts, there were no bases near me, and I don’t remember seeing a man or woman in uniform outside of the movies or video games.
September 11, 2001, ripped open my eyes to new concepts of bravery, selfless service, hardship, and sacrifice in the incredible actions of first responders, communities, and the military campaigns that followed.
Shortly after enlisting in 2005, I was given a funeral detail assignment; two funerals a day for a week. Fourteen caskets. Fourteen ceremonies. Fourteen broken families handed fourteen folded flags as fourteen bugles played taps. 294 rounds were fired in the air to salute them. It felt to me at the time like the peak of pain and sacrifice. Then, during my first deployment, our unit suffered the loss of 40 men. It seemed so staggering: 14, 40, over 7,000 American troops killed in the Global War on Terror, over a million men and women killed fighting for America throughout our history.
Americans fought in the jungles of Vietnam, in the shadows of the Cold War, across the frozen plains of Korea, twice across the entirety of planet earth, and even fought each other, our own American brothers and sisters. Many didn’t want to be there but had no choice, and some wanted to go and volunteered. All of these sacrifices are both ultimate and equal, regardless of their individual circumstances, or the popularity or politics of their conflicts.
We venerate them. We venerate them because to fall in the service of America, for the whole over the self, for hundreds of millions of people they will never even meet, and for our very way of life, is a sacrifice that has no equal. That’s why we build them monuments, etch their names into metal, stone, and even onto our skin so that they will forever be remembered, fulfilling the greatest sacrifice of a Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airman – to die for their country and comrades.
These men and women paid the highest price to defend the American Idea for a quarter of a millennium – that all men are created equal, that inalienable rights protect every individual, that self-governance is superior to suffering kings and tyrants, that economic freedom and the opportunity to achieve prosperity are the cornerstone of independence, liberty, and our collective success.
Memorial Day serves to remind us what has always been at stake and that freedom carries a heavy price. It reminds us to live good, honorable lives on behalf of those whose lives were cut short. This year, I’m thinking about what kind of lives we need to live to ensure our incredible American Idea continues to live and thrive for the next 250 years – because the men and women of our U.S. military carry and endure the worst hardships along the winding road of our history.
If you’re willing to indulge me, I’ve included the names of my fallen comrades below. Remember them with me, along with the names you carry and those your community carries. Say their names and tell their stories to others, so that their sacrifices will not be forgotten..
Private 1st Class, Jonathan Yanney, 20.
Specialist, Troy Tom, 21.
Specialist, Dennis Williams, 24.
Captain, Cory Jenkins, 30.
Captain, John Hallett III, 30.
Sergeant 1st Class, Ronald Sawyer, 38.
Private 1st Class, Jordan Brochu, 20.
Specialist, Jonathan Welch, 19.
Specialist, Tyler Walshe, 21.
Specialist, Kevin Graham, 27.
Specialist, Michael Dahl Jr., 23.
Specialist, Kyle Coumas, 22.
Private 1st Class, Christopher Walz, 25.
Specialist, Jared Stanker, 22.
Sergeant, Patrick Williamson, 24.
Sergeant, Issac Jackson, 27.
Sergeant, Dale Griffin, 29.
Sergeant, Fernando De La Rosa, 24.
Sergeant First Class, Luis Gonzalez, 27.
Specialist, Gary Gooch Jr., 22.
Specialist, Aaron Aamot, 22.
Specialist, Anthony Paci, 30.
Staff Sergeant, Michael Blanchette, 27.
Sergeant, Andrew McConnell, 24.
1st Lieutenant, David Wright II, 26.
Sergeant, Robert Gordon II, 22.
Private 1st Class, Brian Bates, Jr., 20.
Staff Sergeant, David Gutierrez, 35.
Specialist, Kyle Wright, 22.
Sergeant, Carlos Gill, 25.
Specialist, Joseph White, 21.
Sergeant, Edward Smith, 30.
Sergeant, Titus Reynolds, 23.
Sergeant, Adam Ray, 23.
Private 1st Class, James Miller, 21.
Private 1st Class, Jason Fingar, 24.
Private 1st Class, Jacob Dennis, 22.
Specialist, Joseph Lewis, 26.
Captain, Benjamin Sklaver, 32.
Private First Class, Alan Newton, 26.
Staff Sergeant Richard Barry, 27.
Private 1st Class Julian Colvin, 21.
Staff Sergeant Alexander Conrad, 26
God Bless America, God Bless our Fallen.
