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To the soldiers, who never came home, we salute you.

We do not take for granted those in active duty who make sacrifices for our country today. 

We honor you daily. We also don’t take for granted those who have served and are honorably discharged. We thank you for your service and agree you should be celebrated more often than on Veteran’s Day.

But on Memorial Day, we focus specifically on those who died while serving in the United States armed forces.

Many may gather with family and friends around a barbecue pit or perhaps take a boat out on a lake, enjoying a three-day weekend. 

While there isn’t anything wrong with taking a rest every once in a while, it’s important to also remember what Memorial Day is all about.

Some of our friends and neighbors will celebrate not at the lake or with family, but at cemeteries and quietly at home.

Widows may cry for their lost husbands, children for their fathers or mothers, or parents for their children. We mourn with the families that have been split apart by war and those who were never reunited with their loved ones. 

We express our gratitude for the heroes who gave up being with those families again so that we could continue celebrating the unofficial start of summer.  

This Memorial Day, we encourage you to take part in the 8 a.m. walk from the corner of Magnolia and Alabama streets in Vidalia, across the Mississippi River Bridge, and the gathering at the Natchez Visitor Center. We encourage you to later participate in the memorial service at the Natchez National Cemetery. We also encourage everyone to be a part of the libation ceremony honoring U.S. Colored Troops, remembering that some United States citizens had to fight longer for freedom than others.

Though the memory is painful, we choose never to forget all of the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for us to obtain and maintain our freedoms and our peace of mind.