MEMORIAL DAY AND THE BONDS THAT ENDURE

Each year, as May draws to a close, Americans pause on Memorial Day to reflect on the deep cost of freedom. More than a day off work or the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day is a sacred time to honor the men and women who laid down their lives in military service to our country. It is a moment to remember not only their sacrifice, but the enduring bonds of family, community, and patriotism that live on in their absence.

While the origins of Memorial Day trace back to the years following the Civil War, the commemoration is shaped just as much by the stories of those who carry on: the parents who place flags on a grave each year, the children who grow up hearing tales of a brave relative they never met, and the neighbors who gather at local memorials to remember those who never came home. These quiet acts of remembrance speak volumes.

Memorial Day also invites us to reflect on the unique burdens borne by military families. When a service member is lost, their loved ones carry the weight of that absence for a lifetime. Gold Star families, those who have lost a loved one in service, remind us that sacrifice is not just made on battlefields, but endures at kitchen tables, empty chairs, and on birthdays marked by memory instead of presence.

On this Memorial Day, we owe more than gratitude. We owe a personal commitment to teach our children the meaning of service, to stand with the families of the fallen, to remember that freedom is never free, and that its cost is measured in lives given for a country they loved.Let us honor their memory not only with words, but with actions. By caring for veterans, supporting military families, and working to preserve the liberties they died defending, we ensure that their legacy endures, not just for one day in May, but every day of the year.

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Sen. Scott Madon, R-Pineville, represents the 29th Senate District, which includes Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Knott, and Letcher Counties. He serves as co-chair of the Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government, Finance, Personnel, and Public Retirement. He also serves on the Interim Joint Committees on Appropriations and Revenue; Economic Development and Workforce Investment; Local Government; Natural Resources and Energy; State Government; and Tourism, Small Business, and Information Technology. In addition, he is a member of the Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee.