Friends,
As many depart on Memorial Day travel and vacation, I would like all Americans to join with me in recognizing that this holiday is not about hot dogs and barbeques - nor is it about the start of the traditional summer season. It's not about celebratory parades full of politicians who never served in the military - in fact it is not even a celebration. It certainly is not about politics or elections. This is why I declined several invitations to march in Memorial Day Parades and speak at Memorial Day events. I am a candidate for political office, and I believe that it would be inappropriate to politicize today in any way.
In October of 1983, my Naval Academy roommate, First Lieutenant David Nairn, USMC, was killed in Beirut Lebanon when the Marine barracks were destroyed. We had just spent the day before together, and then, while I watched, the headquarters building was leveled in one of the first horrific acts of international terrorism - killing Dave and over 200 other Marines. There are no monuments in Beirut to him or his comrades, but we must recognize them. The measure of their sacrifice was not the validity of the mission that they were on, but rather the dedication that they brought to that mission. True then and true today.
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