We at CalVet can find no better way to express the true meaning of Memorial Day than by quoting the words Abraham Lincoln wrote in a letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, a widow living in Boston to express his condolences for the death of her sons.

“I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”

Many of us will visit cemeteries and memorials and attend parades this Memorial Day. Regardless of what you do, we ask that you take a minute to participate in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m. as an act of national unity with other Americans, whether alone or with family and friends. Let’s honor those who died in service to the United States.

A listing of Memorial Day events throughout the state is available online at www.calvet.ca.gov to assist you in finding an event near you.

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