Best Memorial Day Quotes and Sayings
Contents
Memorial Day is a public holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and remember the American soldiers who died as they valiantly fought for the freedom of their countrymen. A similar annual commemorative event known as Remembrance Day occurs in the UK and Canada every November 11. (1, 2)
Veteran’s Day and Armed Forces Day honor the men and women in military service, including those who are currently on active duty. (3)
History of Memorial Day
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a time when families gather and visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of their departed soldiers with flowers, flags, letters, and photographs.
The holiday began as a commemoration of those lost while fighting in the Civil War. The tradition evolved to commemorating all military personnel who perished in the line of duty. Included now are those who died fighting for our freedom in WWII, Vietnam, Korea, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (3)
How the tradition was initially set on every May 30 is rooted in the call made by General John A. Logan, leader of the Northern Civil War veterans.
“The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” General Logan proposed. (3) Many states heeded and held similar commemorative events reprised in the years that followed.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 changed the observance date to the last Monday in May to create long weekends. It further declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. (3)
Commemorating the Fallen
Many people visit military cemeteries and memorials to remember the fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. Many American cities and towns host parades, usually incorporating military personnel. (3) The American flag is flown at half-mast from dawn until noon.
Many Canadians wear red poppies on their clothes to symbolize the memory of the soldiers. The wearing of poppies was inspired by the poem “Flanders Fields” written by John McCrae about poppies growing in Flemish graveyards where soldiers were buried. (4)
Happy Memorial Day Quotes to Use in Message
Memorial Day is about freedom given to us by the sacrifice of generations of soldiers. Wish a happy Memorial Day using some of these Memorial Day quotes. Send a message, or just say them personally.
- In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
- Peace is the real and right memorial for those who have died in war.
- Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
- I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.
- Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours.
- I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
- decoration Day is the most beautiful of our national holidays…. The grim cannon have turned into palm branches, and the shell and shrapnel into peach blossoms.
- Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all our service men and women past and present. You are not forgotten!
- Reminder! Patriotism doesn’t mean a short and frenzied burst of emotions. It is about the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
- As long as our nation is the home of the brave, it remains the land of the free. Happy Memorial Day!
Inspirational Quotes about Patriotism for Memorial Day
Inspirational quotes about Memorial Day can help everyone understand the deep essence of the observance.
- Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.
- Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.
- A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.
- There are no points of the compass on the chart of true patriotism.
- The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.
- Patriotism is easy to understand in America – it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.
- Patriotism was a living fire of unquestioned belief and purpose.
- There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country.
- Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
- True patriotism isn’t cheap. It’s about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.
Memorial Day Quotes to Say “Thank You”
Here are a number of ways to say thank you to all those soldiers who died seeking our freedom:
- Ceremonies are important, but our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops and once a year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well.
- As America celebrates Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation’s wars.
- Thank you so much to all the servicemen and women who have gone above and beyond protecting our country. Happy Memorial Day!
- Memories, even bittersweet ones, are better than nothing.
- We ask a lot of those who wear our uniform. We ask them to leave their loved ones, to travel great distances, to risk injury, even to be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. They are dedicated. They are honorable. They represent the best of our country, and we are grateful.
- Better than honor and glory, and History’s iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men.
- As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
- How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
- We’d like to say thank you to all the veterans of the United States of America. Thank you for the cost you paid so we could live in freedom and safety. Thank you that we have the freedom to pursue happiness, we have freedom of speech, we have all the freedoms other people only dream of. And sorry that some of us take these freedoms for granted.
- To all of the America’s Veterans: thank you for the sacrifice you made so we could be in safety.
Famous Quotes and Sayings Useful for Memorial Day
The idea of sharing famous quotes and sayings connected with Memorial Day is one more way to celebrate this occasion:
- Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it.
- Memorial Day this year is especially important as we are reminded almost daily of the great sacrifices that the men and women of the Armed Services make to defend our way of life.
- These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor – and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.
- Decoration Day is the most beautiful of our national holidays…. The grim cannon have turned into palm branches, and the shell and shrapnel into peach blossoms.
- On Memorial Day, I don’t want to only remember the combatants. There were also those who came out of the trenches as writers and poets, who started preaching peace, men and women who have made this world a kinder place to live.
- Memorial Day remains one of America’s most cherished patriotic observances. The spirit of this day has not changed – it remains a day to honor those who died defending our freedom and democracy.
- We have to end wars, otherwise wars will end us all.
- While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms.
- We should all beware of phony people with their pretended patriotism that only lives during holidays.
- The courage and heroism of all American soldiers will always live in our hearts.
Memorial Day Quotes from Presidents to Citizens
Quotes about Memorial Day from former presidents are a way to share your feelings, too:
- Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their sacrifice.
- The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.
- Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
- I don’t have to tell you how fragile this precious gift of freedom is. Every time we hear, watch, or read the news, we are reminded that liberty is a rare commodity in this world.
- Freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
- We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.
- This Memorial Day should remind us of the greatness that past generations of Americans achieved from Valley Forge to Vietnam, and it should inspire us with the determination to keep America great and free by keeping America safe and strong in our own time, a time of unique destiny and opportunity for our Nation.
- I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it.
Memorial Day Quotes and Phrases with Military Meaning
Here are some different military phrases that can work as a Memorial Day quote you can use:
- The heroes of Flight 93 won the first battle in the War on Terror, and they should never be forgotten.
- Today let us, as Americans, honour the American fighting man. For it is he – the soldier, the sailor, the Airman, the Marine – who has fought to preserve freedom. It is his valour that has given renewed hope to the free world that by working together in discipline and faith our ideals of freedom will always prevail.
- It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
- For it has been said, all that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country’s cause. The highest merit, then, is due to the soldier.
- Women have, officially or not, been part of the American armed forces for more than 150 years – with a history that stretches back to both the American Revolution and figures like Deborah Sampson, who bound her chest and fought the British under the name Robert Shurtleff.
- America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels.
- For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.
- Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.
- Memorial Day isn’t about BBQs and going to the beaches, it’s about remembering all the fallen heroes who gave their lives for us.
- Because of the brave soldiers America is home of the free people.
Touching Quotes in Honor of Fallen Soldier
The tradition of decorating graves of fallen soldiers is popular. Add in the idea of reading touching quotes in honor of a fallen soldier and you have a wonderful combination.
- Freedom does not come without a price. We may sometimes take for granted the many liberties we enjoy in America, but they have all been earned through the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many of the members of our armed forces.
- Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.
- We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.
- They are dead; but they live in each Patriot’s breast, and their names are engraved on honor’s bright crest.
- These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor – and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.
- The dead soldier’s silence sings our national anthem.
- Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.
- The brave die never, though they sleep in dust, their courage nerves a thousand living men.
- Their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.
- The death of a soldier means his love to the country because he laid down his life for the lives of all citizens.
Best Quotes about Heroes for Memorial Day
Heroes never die! At least in our hearts. Memorial Day is a good opportunity to revive heroes in our memories by using one of these quotes:
- It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.
- Heroes never die. They live on forever in the hearts and minds of those who would follow in their footsteps.
- I guess that’s one good thing about dying young: you’re remembered for your purity, vigor and spontaneity. Dying young you’re remembered for your youth.
- Most have been forgotten. Most deserve to be forgotten. The heroes will always be remembered. The best. The best and the worst. And a few who were a bit of both.
- The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.
- A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
- A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.
- Do you know a hero who wants to be known as a hero? No. Because real heroes just do what is right and must be done.
- A hero has a rebellious spirit because he stands up against the things that seem to be impossible to conquer and conquers them.
- Heroes know that nothing is given to people just like that. They know that it has to be fought for.
Memorial Day Images with Remembrance Quotes
Memorial Day images with remembrance quotes will be useful for you if you decide to congratulate your friends today. They will remind them of the importance to celebrate this day. Consider posting one on a social network:
REFERENCES:
- History.com Editors. (2009, October 27). Memorial Day. HISTORY.
- Remembrance Day in Canada. (2020). Timeanddate.Com. https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/remembrance-day