1/ Over a million Americans have died fighting for this country. Some were drafted, some volunteered, some died in wars that were righteously fought while others of those wars were tragically and even criminally misguided.

2/ Today we remember the soldiers themselves, the majority of whom died horrific deaths far away from home. This is a holiday, but not a happy one. A day to remember, to thank others for their sacrifice, and commit to the creation of a world in which war will be merely a memory.