“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate – we cannot consecrate – we cannot hallow – this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

The words of this brief oration are those made by President Abraham Lincoln, and were delivered on November 19, 1863, at the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, PA dedicating that cemetery and those buried there, commemorating their ultimate sacrifice in the American Civil War. Though President Lincoln was not the featured speaker that day (Edward Everett, former Dean of Harvard University, was the featured speaker whose speech lasted two hours. President Lincoln’s message lasted two minutes.), but these few words have been remembered these 161 years after being first spoken.

In two days, we’ll once again celebrate, remember, and honor all those who, gave, as President Lincoln so perfectly described it, “the last full measure of devotion.” He was speaking of those thousands and thousands of who died in the defense of this country during the War Between the States. Those words could be, and should be, appropriately used to also honor every person who’s given their life and perished defending against all those whose beliefs and actions that have threatened the ideals of the Constitution of these United States of America in many wars throughout the history of this country. The words of President Lincoln can be, and should be, spoken in each and every cemetery, Veterans’ Park, and at every post-parade memorial held now on the last Monday of May each year.

We gather each year in Memory of those who died in wars so we could live free, but with all due respect, what should be the true meaning of the day, has gradually been pushed down the list of important reasons to celebrate the day.

On Memorial Day, when we should be remembering those who gave that last full measure of their devotion to God, Freedom, Country, and Fellow Man, many are preparing for the picnic that will kick off the unofficial start of summer. Before those picnics, there are parades, but it seems like each year they are a little bit shorter, and though the flag is well represented in those parades, there seem to be many groups involved in the parade that don’t seem to be connected to what Memorial Day is all about.

The VFTB means no disrespect toward any group that is part of a community, whose purpose is important to those involved, and in no way does it mean any disrespect, nor does it hold any dislike or animosity toward picnics or those who, like me, enjoy them. They shouldn’t, though, (my opinion) be as highly prioritized as the main, or even in the top two, reasons to celebrate every last Monday of May each year.

The main reason for celebration on this coming Monday is explained fully in two of the remarks included in President Lincoln’s speech, the first being, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here,” and though he spoke of the possibility of the comments of that day in 1863 not being remembered, many of them have been remembered, and should continue to be remembered and restated each and every Memorial Day. The second remark is, “It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this,” as it certainly is, and we should reverently repeat it annually.

May God Bless all who have died in all battles fought for this country, and may we thank you who served and died for your devotion, dedication, and sacrifice.