05/25/2026
“All gave some. Some gave all.”
Years ago, before a Memorial Day weekend, one of my old platoon sergeants, SSG Russaw, gave us a brief that has stayed with me ever since. I always understood what Memorial Day was supposed to mean, but that was the first time it truly sank in just how backwards the phrase “Happy Memorial Day” can feel.
Because for many, this day is not happy.
It is a day of remembrance. A day that carries grief, silence, reflection, and the weight of absence. A day for those who never made it home. The ones whose boots stopped marching while the rest of us kept going.
For some families, there is an empty chair that never stopped hurting to look at. For some children, there are memories that were never made. For many veterans, there are names and faces that time will never erase.
Memorial Day is not about celebration. It is about sacrifice.
So as the world moves through cookouts, vacations, and long weekends, I hope people take even just a moment to stop and remember what this day truly costs. Freedom was paid for by lives that can never be replaced.
The display in this photo is one I was fortunate enough to witness many times at Fort Bragg. Every pair of boots represents a service member who made the ultimate sacrifice. Standing in front of it is sobering in a way words cannot fully explain.
Today, we remember our fallen brothers and sisters.
Not just as soldiers.
But as people who ARE loved, missed, and NEVER forgotten.
