Each year you struggle for the words.
Never Forget.
Ultimate Sacrifice.
They are the staples of the Memorial Day Weekend, the holiday set aside to honor those who gave their lives in service to their country.
That's right.
That three-day weekend we just enjoyed is much more than the "unofficial" start of summer. It's more than the first beach weekend of the season. It's not about car sales. Or breaking out the barbecue grill.
Actually, that's not entirely correct.
It's about all those things. Or, more correctly, the actions of those who gave their lives to preserve exactly those kinds of freedoms that we all too often take for granted.
Yes, I'm as guilty as anyone. It's easy to do. When you hate winter and cold weather as much as I do, it's easy to get so hyped over the arrival of summer that you lose track of the solemn occasion that marks the beginning of the season.
Then you read about men like Ridley's Robert Schatzman.
And Springfield's Ted Burton.
They were still teens when they joined the Marines and found themselves in a far away place most of us could not find on a map.
Vietnam.
We are marking the 50-year anniversary of 1968, one of the pivotal years in the nation's history.
It was our honor to feature the stories recounting the heroics of Schatzman and Burton, and offer them one more salute on this Memorial Day Weekend.
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