Memorial Day is one of the holidays that elementary students are required to learn about for their social studies SOLs.

As Memorial Day draws to a close, I find myself thinking about the fabulous trip I was able to make last summer to France. Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the American Cemetery in Normandy and to the D-Day Landing Beaches.

As we arrived that early July morning, it was drizzling rain, but none of the Americans on the trip with us seemed to notice. There was complete and total silence as the chimes in the memorial there began playing “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.” We walked among the thousands of crosses and thought about those brave young men who sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom, unexpected tears streaming down most of our faces. We watched in wonder as the American flag was raised so far away from our homeland. Later, we would visit the landing beaches and see the cliffs that those brave men had to scale.

Yesterday in church, we recognized those in attendance who had served in the military or in other service professions in which they risk their lives to protect ours. Once again, the unexpected tears began as these ladies and gentlemen lined the aisles to receive certificates of appreciation from our pastors while we sang “America, the Beautiful.”

These brave souls who sacrificed their lives to protect ours….these brave friends who put themselves in harm’s way to protect us daily….these are our true heroes.