I haven’t personally lost anyone to war. The last member of my family who was a casualty of war was an uncle of my grandmother’s — he died in the 1920s, finally succumbing to the ravages of a mustard gas attack from his time in Europe during World War I. My grandfathers both fought in World War II — my mother’s father as an Army code breaker in the Pacific, my father’s father with the Navy, also in the Pacific; he was there at Pearl Harbor and lived to tell about it.

But that isn’t what Memorial Day was created for; it isn’t for the stories of war of the survivors, but for the memories of those who died. Which is why Oh Penelope Photography came to my mind this morning. Caitlin, the photographer behind Oh Penelope, is a military wife herself, and last year she created a styled photo shoot, a photo commentary about the loss of a single soldier. It went viral because it was so moving. She titled it “Heaven Was Needing a Hero.”

So today, we remember. Long-lost relatives from long-ago wars. Friends of friends who sacrificed their lives in just this last year.

And we celebrate, as we do every holiday, with cookouts and get togethers and afternoons spent splashing at the beach or boating at the lake or just sitting by the grill, beer in hand, savoring the freedom of a day with no responsibilities. We celebrate because we’ve been given that freedom, and we celebrate those who’ve given us that freedom, and we celebrate for them.

And today I am praying that in the years to come, there will be fewer and fewer fallen soldiers to memorialize each May.

God bless America, God bless our troops, and God bless the families whose members sacrificed everything for our freedoms.

~ Laura