WITH HONOR AND GRATITUDE

Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it. ~ Unknown

May opens like a folded flag,  
its colors softened by memory,  
its edges stitched with names  
we whisper more than we speak.  

This is the weekend when silence  
carries the weight of footsteps  
that will never return~  
a hush held in the hollows of gold-star homes.  

We remember the beaches at Normandy,  
where young men ran on shore 
into the roar of history,  
their courage breaking like surf  
against the teeth of tyranny.  

We remember the Pacific,  
its vast blue swallowing sons  
who fought island by island  
to keep the world from going dark.  

We remember Korea’s frozen ridges,  
Vietnam’s jungles thick with ghosts,  
and the desert winds of distant wars  
where the cost of freedom  
was paid in dust and blood.  

Most died without fanfare,  
their stories tucked into the quiet pockets  
of families who still set one extra place  
at the table of their hearts.  

And we~ 
living in the wide, unearned comfort  
their sacrifice secured~  
stand in the long shadow of their bravery,  
knowing our prosperity is built  
on the echo of their last breath.  

Today, we bow our heads  
not just in grief, 
but in honor, and gratitude~  
for those who never came home,  
and for the freedom  
that took their place.

11th grade12th gradememorialfree verse

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