Use actions to thank veterans
Not only is it important this Memorial Day to honor fallen veterans, we should offer more than words to those still living. Last year was the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, our country’s bloodiest conflict. Roughly 500,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died, says the U.S. Department of Defense. Yet born of that grief was Decoration Day, now known as Memorial Day. We set the day aside to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Families and volunteers honor the fallen by cleaning and decorating their graves, marking them with flags. But even as we pause to remember, we must acknowledge that a single day of ceremony isn’t enough. On Memorial Day and throughout the rest of the year, the dead — and the families they…