Take a moment this Memorial Day

Seldom have words better captured a sentiment than President Abraham Lincoln's to Mrs. Lydia Bixby of Massachusetts, who reportedly had lost five sons in the Civil War.

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Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

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From the Revolutionary War forward, our nation has a proud history of rallying around Old Glory when outside interests threaten us. Men and women from Maine to California, Missouri to Alaska have stepped forward to add their name to the roll of the brave who fought to secure liberty for the free.

And some of them did not come home alive.

Over the course of our nation's history, nearly 1.4 million Americans have died while serving in wars and military operations.

Outside the Civil War, World War II was the most costly, with nearly 300,000 combat deaths and more than 110,000 non-combat deaths. Our most recent wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, claimed more than 6,000 troops.

Some of those who died while serving in uniform will never come home. They were buried in France or Belgium or the Philippines or entombed on the U.S.S Arizona or Utah.

Yet, each Memorial Day we remember these patriots. We honor their sacrifice. We pledge to not let their deaths be in vain as we strive to maintain and build upon our foundational ideals.

In coming days, here in Cape Girardeau and elsewhere in the area, various groups will sponsor Memorial Day Activities. Thursday's issue of the Southeast Missourian contained a list of some of those events.

We encourage you to attend one (or more) and pay your own respects to the fallen.

Thank them for the sacrifice they laid upon our nation's altar of freedom.

Editor's note: This editorial was updated to indicate the American Civil War had more deaths -- 620,000 -- than any other war.