MEMORIAL DAY, 2005
Most of us are well-acquainted with war—and with memories.
One of the most notable characteristics of the Korean War Veterans Association has been the drive by
hundreds of chapters and local groups across America to build monuments and memorials of that war so long
ago when America’s sons and daughters answered the call to defend a country
they never knew and a people they never met.
This past year I have been privileged to view many of those memorials and salute again the sacrifices
portrayed, yes; but also to salute the thousands of KWVA members and other Korea Veterans who refused to
let America forget. This year we have begun to be reinforced in numbers by the younger veterans of Korea
as equally determined to preserve our heritage as we have been through these years of national forgetfulness.
As this Memorial Day weekend progresses, and especially on the day itself let us keep faith with our
heritage and our comrades in arms, both living and dead, by remembering and never forgetting, in speech,
thoughts and deeds, that FREEDOM IS NOT FREE! There is no message that
America—at war but mainly unawares— needs more desperately to hear. GOD BLESS AMERICA and GOD bless all
her veteran defenders.
President
