This Memorial Day, we honor the brave women and men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation’s freedom. We recommit to keeping our sacred obligation to their survivors, families, and caregivers. Together, we vow to honor their memories by carrying on their work to forge a more perfect Union.

Since our Nation’s founding, members of our Armed Forces have been willing to lay down their lives — not for a person or a place but for an idea unlike any other in human history: the idea of the United States of America. We are the only Nation in the world founded on the idea that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our entire lives. Generations of America’s beloved daughters and sons have dared all, risked all, and given all for this idea. Today, as they lie in eternal peace, we continue to live by the light of liberty they kept burning bright.