Holiday weekends are celebrated by most for that magical extra day off. And while I too am grateful that I do not have to get up for work on Monday, let’s get that straight.

But, amidst barbequing and bean bag tossing, the true meaning of the holiday slips our mind.

So, as a reminder, we asked our employees who served in the armed forces to share what Memorial Day means to them.

Eddie McLean – Sales - Marines

For me, and I suppose many others, every day is Memorial Day.

 I have seen first-hand the cost some of us have paid to protect, project, or preserve our nation’s interests. The case I think of most often involves a young sergeant I did not know, although we lived as civilians only 20 miles apart. We also served together in Kurkuk, Iraq but never met. I led his patrol out of the gate one day, and a little while later he was killed in an explosion.

 I often pass the marker on Route 77 dedicated to his memory.

The other was a man that was killed in a rocket attack that wounded several others. I took charge of an area in-taking the wounded, setting up a blood drive, and the resulting pedestrian Humvee accident.

After it was over, I always felt bad for not posting someone to stay with that fallen soldier. I felt as if I had abandoned him or ignored him, and it bothered me for years. Using the internet I looked up an article and found the funeral home memorial put in place after his death.

 It was there I learned his name. I also had learned we both had been prior marines with similar backgrounds and both nearly the same age. He left behind parents, a wife, and children.

I never met or spoke a word to either of these men, I only know them through their deaths, and yet I carry their names and images with me forever now.

There were other incidences and there were other deaths, but none that I was as intimately involved with. We lost so many others to aircraft crashes and a variety of other accidents, each one provided its own horrors and shock.

 To this very day certain sounds, smells, or other stimuli can bring back those memories and images.

Memorial Day can happen at any moment.

 As for this day in May, I’m glad the nation takes a moment to remember and honor those people.

 I don’t resent the parades, cookouts, and other celebrations as many do, so long as those we lost are first honored and remembered before we make use of the liberties and freedoms they paid the price to preserve.

Mike Oszust – Sales – Navy

Memorial Day truly is a day to honor all of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation. They are the real heroes that have kept this country free and safe.

Bryan Auhbil – Shop Technician – Army

As we prepare for the delicious hot dogs, hamburgers, and steaks on the grill. As we decorate our yards, decks, and ourselves in colors of reds, whites, and blues. As we all gather for the parties, cookouts, and celebrations. Let us all remember what Memorial Day really means….

Memorial Day is of the utmost importance to me.

It’s a day of celebration, a day of remembrance, a day to recognize the valor of all those fallen heroes who have sacrificed their own lives that brought forth our daily freedom. It is a day to thank and honor all the men and women who have died while serving in the US military.

Lest We Forget!

Have A Safe Holiday Weekend.

Please pause before you begin your weekend festivities to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Happy Memorial Day from the JOMAC team to you.