May 25, 2026
Memorial Day
By: Ski Ingram
Memorial Day. It is the day to honor, remember, and revere those who were willing to go to war and then died while keeping the citizens of the United States safe from all enemies. This is a tremendous sacrifice given to our country and its citizens.
History
At the end of the Civil War our nation began to praise and honor those who had died in war. Before the end of the war family and friends began to decorate the graves of the Civil War dead.
The first known observance of “Decoration Day” was held in Charleston, South Carolina on May 1st, 1865, less than a month after the end of the war.
The first state to recognize the holiday was New York State, in 1873. It wasn’t until 1890 that all the states began to observe this holiday. At the end of World War I it became a national holiday held on May 30th of each year to recognize all our war dead, not just those who died to save the Union. In 1971 Congress passed the National Holiday Act, which moved the holiday to the last Monday in May, for a three-day weekend. This year the day will be held on May 25.
Being a three-day weekend, most people make it a day of recreation: a day at the beach, at the park, or in backyards having barbeques. It’s sad that we spend little time thinking about the freedoms we enjoy and how they were preserved by our military men and women.
Our freedom began when our founding fathers pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to establish this great nation. Since the days of the Revolution, American men and women, about 1.2 million of them, have paid the ultimate price for us. A barbeque with friends and family is one of the freedoms we all enjoy. I just wish more citizens would take a few minutes in the day to discuss our freedoms and remind others how we got them.
Remember, it is a day to honor the veterans who died while serving our country. All veterans have sacrificed, giving of their time, their talents, and sometimes their limbs, but they didn’t give their all. We who served are still able to enjoy the holiday, spend time with our families, and have that barbeque in our backyard. Being a combat veteran, I will think about those I served with who did not come home with me.
One of those was John Ramm. He escaped from communist Czechoslovakia as a young boy, then joined the Army to repay this country to be able to live in freedom. While in the United States, after what should have been his last tour of duty in Viet Nam, he made a mistake and was demoted from Sergeant First Class (E-7) to Specialist (E-4). Being a father of four, he volunteered for his third tour in order to make enough money to feed his family. He paid for his mistake on December 18, 1970. That night I should have been leading that night patrol, but it was my 21st birthday. I was sent into the rear area for a hot meal and a shower. While doing what should have been my job, Ramm’s patrol was ambushed and he and Joseph Curtis were killed. I remember John and Joe every year on my birthday, on Veterans Day, and on Memorial Day. While serving with John, he took me under his wing and taught me how to stay alive in a war zone. I was blessed and came home to live in freedom.
Freedom, what a great word, what a concept. If you have it, you tend to take it for granted. Even when our freedoms are being eroded, we don’t give it enough thought. It is my hope that we all take a few minutes this year to remember why you have the day off work.
Our freedoms are under assault every day. Freedom of speech is being eroded by political correctness. Freedom of religion is being eroded through “equal protection” laws. There are those who want to take away our guns and also disarm the police.
Those we honor on Memorial Day did not die so that our freedoms could be taken away. As with all veterans who give their life, we owe them something. The most important thing is to ensure that the United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, lives on for our children and grandchildren.
Freedom of religion is one thing being attacked daily. Our founding fathers wanted freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. I believe this because our Creator is mentioned so often in the Declaration of Independence. Let me quote from that esteemed document.
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
The last line of that document states, “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, (God), we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
The first Amendment to the Constitution reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; …”
We all must help preserve these rights. Just as those we are honoring this day paid a price, so must we. We all know, “you get what you pay for.” Freedom is not cheap. The price is high for some, not as high for others. The question is what price we are willing to pay.
We have all heard the words of our National Anthem; we’ve sung the first verse many times, which ends with this question, “oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave”?
John Ramm and Joseph Curtis, along with the 1.2 million who gave their lives, have paid a very high price. Today it’s up to us to keep up the fight, to speak out for what we know and believe. We must not be silenced by the noisy few. The stakes are too high; we dare not fail. Let us do our part to keep our flag waving over the land of the free.
Ski Ingram is a combat veteran and a patriot who can be reached at: Ski@Skiingram.com Or www.Skiingram.com.
