Today, Memorial Day, is a day for remembering the sacrifice made by our troops past and present. My sister is a veteran and my son and daughter-in-law are active duty career military. Our troops embody the best of America; vowing to protect and defend the Constitution, working every day to keep us safe and defend our freedom. Today's troops follow in the footsteps of millions who gave the ultimate sacrifice. They sign up knowing the dangers yet realizing that freedom is not free. Below is Hillary's Memorial Day statement.

5/26/2008 Hillary's Statement on Memorial Day Memorial Day is a solemn day for every American; a day to express our profound gratitude to the men and women who have given their lives in military service. A day to join in our thoughts and prayers with the families mourning loved ones. A day to cherish the freedoms and opportunities that so many have served, sacrificed, and died to defend.

On this Memorial Day, I’m reminded of the words of a poet and a veteran named Archibald MacLeish. He served in World War I and witnessed incredible service and sacrifice. Before the close of World War II, to commemorate those who had died, he wrote of the responsibility of all of us who survive them. In his poem entitled “The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak,” he reminds us that those we have lost: “have a silence that speaks for them at night…They say: We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done…They say: our deaths are not ours; they are yours; they will mean what you make them…They say: we leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.” How do we give these lives their meaning? I believe we must honor our service members by doing our best to serve the men and women who have served us. And I believe we must honor the lives we’ve lost by honoring the values for which they fought. That is our duty. And on this Memorial Day, let us recommit ourselves to fulfilling this sacred responsibility every single day. The United States has the finest military on the planet because we have the best soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen in the world. We owe them our support and resources while in-service and when they come home as our Veterans. We owe them a GI Bill of Rights that sees to their health care, housing, education and overall wellbeing. In many ways, everyday should be Memorial Day to honor and remember all they do for our nation, our communities and our families. Our moral obligation is significant for the simple reason that the sacrifice of those who serve and have served in our military demonstrates a profound example of commitment and love for our nation. We must return to them all they have given and we must remember and honor those who gave their all, their lives, for our great nation. "A profound example of commitment and love for our nation." What happened to this sentiment? I am old enough to remember childhood Memorial Day parades- we decorated our bikes with crepe paper and attached flags to the handle bars before we were old enough to be officially in the parade. When we got older, we marched with our Scout Troops, the greatest honor was to be chosen as the Flag bearer. Patriotism wasn't corny- it just WAS! Men removed their hats and both Moms and Dads put their hands over their hearts when the flag passed by (and by golly taught their children to do the same!) We were raised with the knowledge that America is the greatest nation on earth, the land of opportunity; a place where everybody could 'make it' if you just tried! We respected the service and sacrifice of our military; we understood that our veterans were the ones who made America possible. How is it that today, in 2008, we can have a candidate for President who does not know the basics of putting his hand over his heart for the flag and the Anthem? Hey Barack- watch this video and see how it's done- the vocalists are the young men and women who serve our country so well! A candidate who for twenty years listened to a PASTOR ranting "G** D*** America", raving and calling our wonderful country the U. S. of KKKA? A candidate for the highest office in the land who has a long term relationship with an America hating self-admitted, unrepentant domestic terrorist? A candidate whose wife has called this country "mean" and said she had never been proud of her country. A candidate whose cousin in Kenya tried to overturn, by violence, the results of an election he lost. Perhaps the candidate should remind his buddies that he has gotten this far BECAUSE this IS America- where even a candidate with such Anti-American friends can run for office. As little as a generation ago, he would never have made it this far. Back in the day when journalism was about investigating and reporting the truth, Obama would have been sent packing back to the hole he crawled out of after the first of his Anti-American connections was exposed. Fortunately, most Americans love our country and have not and will not vote to put that man in office. I truly believe that most residents of this wonderful country want a patriot in the White House. I have never heard one person say they were not voting for Obama because of his skin color (though I am sadly aware they exist,)I have heard many many hundreds in person and on blogs, who say they will not vote for him because of his Anti-American associates. Maybe instead of calling all the working class folks who voted for Hillary 'racists' the media should recognize it for what it is- Patriotism and unadulterated love of our country! Hillary Clinton has stood solidly supporting our troops and has proposed a new G.I. Bill of Rights to ensure today's service members receive the benefits they have earned. Read the proposal at Hillary's website- http://tinyurl.com/4fcklg Today I want to join Hillary and millions of other Americans and say "Thank You" to all our service members and their families, past and present. We must never forget! And here is one of my favorites! The sentiment that truly reflects the feelings of most Americans!