This Monday marks Memorial Day, a time when we pause to remember all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

The three-day holiday weekend usually marks the unofficial beginning of summer. It’s a time when many people are enjoying barbecues and getting together with friends and family. But most important of all is that we are reminded of those who gave their lives so that we might enjoy our freedoms as Americans. It’s when we recognize the collective debt owed by so many to so few.

It’s a more solemn occasion than Veteran’s Day. Memorial Day recognizes all our military personnel who have died in the service of their country, particularly, those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. While those who died are also remembered, Veteran’s Day is the day set aside in November to thank and honor those who served, in wartime and peacetime, and whether they are deceased or alive.

More than 1.2 million Americans have died in uniform in service to our country since the Revolutionary War. When veterans and their families conceived of Memorial Day as a way to recognize and remember them, it was to ensure that these individuals are not just remembered as names carved someplace in marble or stone. These were people who left behind grieving families and empty seats at dining room tables.

We will join with our local community members on Monday at various Memorial Day ceremonies and events across Sullivan County. See a complete listing of Memorial Day parades and ceremonies on the front page and please see full coverage of these events in next Friday’s newspaper.

Recent news in our country this week only adds to the solemn nature of this year’s Memorial Day. We’re reminded that the task of defending life, liberty and happiness is never complete. Threats to the peace and security of our country can come from foreign nations as well as from within.

It’s our job as American citizens to dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work of advancing this government of the people. It’s our actions, not our words, that pay greatest respect to the fallen.

This Memorial Day we remember the famous words of President Abraham Lincoln, who said, “From these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.”

God Bless America.