While visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire, NM with my family almost 30 years ago, I looked through the directory of names of soldiers lost during the Vietnam War. I  discovered a cousin on the list. I had no idea. Sadly, that typifies Memorial Day. Most people really have no idea.

The Memorial is an incredible place, developed by parents who had lost their son, David, in the Vietnam War. The story of how the facility came to be is inspiring, and I am blessed to have been able to meet the author of David’s Story at the Memorial. The author was David’s dad, Dr. Victor Westphall, who served in the Navy in World War II.

Every aspect of the Memorial humanizes the stories of those who are to be memorialized on this holiday. To memorialize is “to honor it or do something so it will be remembered.” Memorialize Day would be to honor those who sacrificed their lives for others and to remember. Too soon we forget, if we ever truly recognized the loss.

Today would be a good day for memories, storytelling and recollections, or looking through old family albums. Today would be a good day to pause and reflect, and to recognize the high price of freedom. As the saying goes, freedom is not free. Pause, for even just a moment, before the burgers come off the grill, while the kids laugh while playing in the pool, during a conversation with an elder, or when travelling freely on the extended weekend, to consider the sacrifices of so many. And, if by chance, you drive by a cemetery, think to thank those who we honor, remember and memorialize on this day we call Memorial Day.