05/26/2026
Every Memorial Day I come back to this photo.
At the time, I don’t think I fully understood what I was experiencing. I was honored to take part in a ceremony in France paying tribute to the Americans who gave their lives helping liberate the country during World War II. The town welcomed us with a gratitude that never faded, even generations later.
But it was this moment — kneeling beside those graves, placing those flags — where something really hit me.
Freedom has a cost.
Not an idea. Not a slogan. A real cost, paid for by real people who never got to come home.
Standing there among row after row of crosses, you realize every marker was someone’s son, brother, friend, or father. Young men who gave up everything so others could live free.
That understanding has stayed with me ever since.
Today isn’t just about remembrance.
It’s about gratitude.
And making sure sacrifices like theirs are never forgotten.