Cord Byrd: “I speak today in memory of our fallen heroes. Next Monday, the last Monday in May, the Nation honors the men and women…”

“I speak today in memory of our fallen heroes. Next Monday, the last Monday in May, the Nation honors the men and women who have given their lives in battle. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the practice of decorating the graves of those who died in battle was already an established custom in many places, especially in the South, but it was a tribute to the healing of the Nation that both sides were able to put aside their past differences to mourn the fallen together after that terrible conflict. Although many communities lay claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day, since World War I, when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring those who were lost in battle in any war--those Americans--Memorial Day belongs to us all. Mr. President, death knows no divisions or political views. Death knows no distinctions between uniforms or battlegrounds. The Nation knew that all too well after the Civil War. Death unites the fallen-- death unites the fallen--in God's care. And death heaps grief and loss in equal measure on all those left to mourn. It is a lesson that some strident few today need to be reminded of, as they use military burials as a place of protest. No matter what views one may hold about the current conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, or indeed of any conflicts anywhere, there is no place for intrusions during these solemn rites, no cause worth offering further pain to the families of the fallen.…”