WASHINGTON
-U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-N.M., today released the following statement honoring Memorial Day:
"Memorial Day is different from the many other occasions we use to honor America's soldiers and veterans. Today is-first and foremost-a day of mourning. Today we remember and honor those who have been taken from us while defending us-those who gave the last full measure of devotion for a country and a cause.
"When we remember the stories of our fallen soldiers, it is often with bittersweet thanksgiving. We mourn those who have been lost. But we also give thanks that they lived.
"Because they lived-because they fought-we enjoy the priceless privilege of being both safe and free. We celebrate the blessings born through their sacrifice, even as we wish that the cost had not been so high.
"Those who fight our wars display virtues that should make any citizen stand in awe-virtues like selflessness, courage and honor. Their actions prove-as one soldier has put it-that ‘life can be lifted into poetry,' that for all our human frailty, men and women are capable of great things.
"Our soldiers are inspired by a nation that is more than land, more than flesh and blood. They know that America is an idea and an idea worth fighting for. That knowledge has inspired great acts of heroism and simple gestures of human kindness. It has led soldiers to risk their lives for their fellow soldiers and their fellow citizens.
"So, as we mourn those we have lost, we must also remember why they fought.
"A soldier serving in Iraq expressed this message better than I ever could. In a letter home, he wrote, ‘Live life to serve, because you can. Dissent, because you can. Enjoy freedom, because you can.'
"This soldier could not know that he would never return to the land he loved so much. But like many great men, he gave his loved ones a way to mourn his death. He wanted to be remembered for how he lived-not how he died. More importantly, he wanted all of us to remember the things he lived for.
"As we mark Memorial Day this year, let us remember those who gave everything in defense of our nation and the ideals for which we stand. And let us celebrate the freedom they pledged their lives to protect.
"Because that celebration is the best tribute we can make to their memory. Because they would want it that way. And because we can."
