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My Uncle Max was a tailgunner in the Pacific in World War ll. He got a Dear John letter during the war and wrote to my Dad asking him to be kind to his ex-wife. That was the kind of man he was.

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My Father-in-law was a pilot in World War ll.

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My Uncle Ed was in the Battle of the Bulge and the Ardennes in World War Two.

All three men came home safely from the war, and raised families. None of them spoke of the war until they were much older.

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Butch on the right flexing his muscles with my cousin, Gary in happier days.

My cousin, Jeanne’s boyfriend, Roger Dale Cecil (Butch) was a marine killed in Vietnam. I still remember the anguish of those days when letters he had written were delivered after we had attended his funeral.

None of these men will be with us tomorrow as we celebrate the many freedoms we enjoy on Memorial Day.

Neither will the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines killed in the War on Terror, the Gulf War, the Korean War and other conflicts.

Here is a list of just a few soldiers who laid down their lives in recent years.

Spc. Erich Smallwood

Maj. Andrew Olmsted

Army Spc. Dustin Fisher

Sgt. Buddy James Hughie

Sgt. Michael James Stokely

President Bush spoke these stirring words about our fallen heroes on May 27th, 2007 and we should cherish them in these worrisome times as we will not hear them from the current president.

On this Day of Memory, we mourn brave citizens who laid their lives down for our freedom. They lived and died as Americans. May we always honor them. May we always embrace them. And may we always be faithful to who they were and what they fought for.

Michelle Malkin has a thought provoking tribute to those who are missing among us.

Thanks to Lucianne on Facebook for the title.

Sissy Willis has a Memorial Day Salute.