HEROES

An editorial from the Montgomery Advertiser:

Express gratitude to military today

The third Saturday in May has for more than 50 years been designated Armed Forces Day, a day set aside for honor and appreciation of the members of the American military. We know of no way to adequately express a degree of appreciation so great, but we hope every citizen will try to do so today.

How does one begin to thank the people whose service to our country is central to the protection of the freedoms that make America America? How does one express the feelings of pride in, and gratitude for, their commitment, their willingness to serve in inhospitable and often exceedingly dangerous places?

Armed Forces Day began in 1949 as a single-day celebration that replaced the previous special days that honored the individual branches of the military. The theme of the first celebration was "Teamed for Defense." President Harry Truman noted that the military forces were "vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace."

Gen. Omar Bradley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, knew all too well the horrors of war and the fragility of peace. "The heritage of freedom must be guarded as carefully in peace as it was in war," he said. "Sacrifice, not selfishness, must be the eternal price of liberty. Vigilance, not appeasement, is the byword of living freedoms."

He spoke those words in 1950, but they are no less important for Americans to hear today.

Alabama is celebrating Armed Forces Day with great enthusiasm today, and we applaud that. The celebration at the American Village in Montevallo is billed as the largest event in the state.

But whether your celebration is a big event with parades and displays of equipment or simply a few moments of quiet reflection on the service offered to our country by those in its armed forces, we hope you will carry the sentiments with you every day that follows. Our military personnel deserve no less.


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