Originally Memorial Day was called Decoration Day, which was a day of remembrance for those who have died in service to our country. In 1967 Congress officially changed Decoration Day to Memorial Day and decided that it would be the last Monday of May.

Today I would like to share with you some of my experiences while I have been serving this great country of ours.

Last year, I was deployed to Iraq. I was stationed at Ali Air Base which is located at the Army Supply Camp Adder near the city of An Nasiriyah. During my time there, I attended two memorials of fallen soldiers. The memorials were very somber. For 45 minutes during both services the chapel was a sanctuary where it gave military men and women a chance to remember their fellow servicemen in peace. There was not a pair of dry eyes in the over crowded building. After the solemn ceremonies each person stepped out into the heat of the desert sun to resume their dangerous and stressful jobs. Always thinking of their friends, over there, Memorial Day is not once a year but everyday.

As Fire Chief I was in charge of the Rescue Air Mobility Squad, a group of firefighters whose job was to respond to accidents between Kuwait and Baghdad. One morning the call came in that a person was trapped in a overturned Humvee vehicle, on a road call Main Supply Route Tampa. When the four firefighters arrived by helicopter to assess the situation, they sadly discovered that it had turned from a rescue operation to recovery of a fallen soldier. It would have been easy for the team leader to say that since this was no longer a rescue they could leave the dangerous situation and go back to Ali Air Base. They chose to stay. After an hour in the 130 degree temperature, the fallen soldier was extracted from the vehicle and put in the helicopter to start his final journey back home.

January 25th 1981 is a day that I will always remember. I was working at Castle Point VA Medical Center and I was down by the Hudson River. I saw an Air Force Boeing 707 flying low over the river on its way to Stewart Airport. It was Freedom One, carrying the 52 freed hostages who had been held in Iran for 444 days. When I saw Freedom One over the Hudson that day, for me it completed a full circle. I thought to myself mission accomplished, but also thought of the 8 servicemen who gave their lives trying to free the hostages.

In November 1979 I was stationed at Zweibruken Air Base Germany. When I received orders to go to an unknown destination, I arrived at a base in the middle of a desert only a few hours before the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat arrived. We met him and he thanked us for being guests of his country. The base I was sent to was one of the bases where the military rescue mission, Operation Eagle Claw, was staged. Its purpose was to go into Iran and free the 52 hostages.

On April 25 1980 two C-130 aircraft from Area Alpha and eight helicopters from an aircraft carrier proceeded into Iran. Three of the helicopters had to turn back because of a wind storm and mechanical difficulties. The two C-130s and the remaining five helicopters reached their destination. The mission was aborted due to the three helicopters not able being to continue. When one of the helicopters took off, the pilot did not see one of the C-130s because of the dust. The helicopter crashed into the airplane. The result was five Air Force crewmen and three United States Marine Corps aircrew lost their lives that day in Iran. Freedom is not cheap. Although I had left Egypt before the rescue mission, when I saw Freedom One flying over the Hudson, I thought to my self mission accomplished and I thought of the 8 servicemen who paid the ultimate price for their fellow Americans.

Today on Route 300 opposite the Cantonment there is a historical marker commemorating that day. It reads "Freedom Road The route traveled by the 52 American hostages from Stewart Airport to West Point after their release from captivity in Iran January 25, 1981" but it does not mention those heroic men who died in the attempt to rescue them.

All too often people think of Memorial Day as a day to remember those who lost their lives during major conflicts such as World War II and Viet Nam. There is nothing wrong with that, however remember that the original intent is to honor all those military men and women who died in our nations service.

Whether a military person gives his or her life during war or an act of terrorism, protecting American citizens in foreign lands, in the war on drugs, defending us on the sea, in the air or on the land, or during training, their sacrifices are equally important and all deserve to be honored and remembered.

I am one of the lucky ones. My father went to Korea and Viet Nam, and came back home. I went to Iraq and came back safely. There are a lot of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands and wives who can not say that. I ask that you keep them in your thoughts too when you remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.

Thank you and God Bless America.