TITLE: MEMORIAL DAY 2025
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DATE: 05/26/2025
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LEGACY_CODE:0-31435
BYLINE: Editorial
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VIDEO:
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TYPE: RED
CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.
Anncr: Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:
VOICE:
Today is Memorial Day -- a time when Americans honor those of their countrymen who, since 1775, have paid freedom’s highest price.
The first observance of Memorial Day occurred on May 30, 1868. Then known as Decoration Day, the holiday was proclaimed by former Union Army General John Logan, leader of an organization of Union military veterans. It was intended to honor those who had died fighting to preserve the Union in the American Civil War.
After the First World War, Memorial Day was established to honor the dead of all American wars.
The U.S. has been at peace for most of its history. But since 1775, more than one-million American soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen have given their lives for their country.
The bloodiest and most destructive conflict in U.S. history was the Civil War, which cost the lives of nearly six-hundred thousand Americans. The unprecedented number of casualties led to the establishment of the first national cemetery at Arlington, Virginia.
Special honors are given to Americans killed in action whose remains are never found or identified. During the Second World War, seventy-eight thousand of the more than four hundred thousand American dead were never identified or recovered.
On Memorial Day, the President of the United States has traditionally laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Carved on the tomb's marble face is the epitaph, "Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God."
Throughout history, Americans have not been eager to go to war. The overwhelming majority of those who have fought for America have been civilians, not career military.
“Our fallen warriors gave their last breath for our country and our freedom,” said President Donald Trump in an Memorial Day message in May 2020. “Today, let us pause in quiet reverence to reflect on the incredible dedication of these valiant men and women and their families, invoking Divine Providence as we continue pursuing our noble goal of lasting peace for the world.”
Today is Memorial Day -- a time when Americans honor those of their countrymen who, since 1775, have paid freedom’s highest price.
