Some numbers tell a whole story.  For example, $8.3 Trillion tells the story of how we must urgently act to pay down the national debt.  Cal Ripken, Jr.’s streak of 2632 consecutive baseball games played is a modern example of unparalleled perseverance.  And 60 reminds us of the highway that stretches the length of Southern Missouri.

 

Some other numbers tell a story about our nation, and about the sacrifice and service of our men and women in uniform. 

 

Memorial Day is an extremely important time to reflect on the story these numbers tell about our nation and the Americans who have given their lives in the defense of our freedom.

 

Take the story of World War II.  Some 292,000 soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines were killed in combat in the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II.  The total number of American casualties was over 407,000.  On average, a  member of the U.S. military served 33 months on active duty and 16 months overseas during the war.  Between 1941 and 1946, 16.1 million Americans did their duty in uniform on behalf of our country.  With the prayers of their nation and the hard work of those who stayed behind, these Americans all became the Greatest Generation, and a model of service for centuries to come.

 

In a war that was fought inch by inch across the European mainland and island by island in the Pacific, the loss of American life is incomprehensible to us today.  Four hundred and seven thousand mothers lost a son or a daughter.  Hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters kissed a sibling goodbye, and the sibling did not return.  Yet our nation remained committed to this cause.

 

If each death were a mile, the U.S. military toll from World War II would be enough to circle the Earth 16 times.  The city of Sacramento, California, is home to 407,000 people, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.  And 407,000 is roughly three times as many words in a standard English dictionary.  In Normandy, France, there is a field of white grave markers that drives the weight of this number home.  Similarly, at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., a field of thousands of bronze stars accomplishes the same effect. 

 

There are other stories from other recent eras: The Korean War took more than 36,000 U.S. lives. Another 58,000 perished fighting the Vietnam War.  In two Gulf Wars in Kuwait and Iraq, and in U.S. military action in Afghanistan, another 2,800 American lives have been lost.  Each one a son or daughter.  Each one the bravest of Americans.

 

Then add to this toll all of the men and women who have died in the service of our country, but did not fall during a war.  Memorial Day is for all of them.  We salute the flag on Memorial Day, and our nation pauses to honor the memory of these patriots.  We remember them in general, as well as single out the ones we know.  They might be neighbors, or members of our family, or they might be soldiers we don’t know, but to whom we have sent a letter or seen in a news story. Their names might be on a memorial in your town, it might have been your father’s friend. 

 

With names or without, our fallen heroes are also our greatest heroes.

 

For Americans who have made this ultimate sacrifice in the service of our country, defense of our freedom, and security of our homeland, the best way of remembering them is in words inscribed on signs around the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery.  They read: Silence and Respect.