By Gen. Michael X. Garrett (Ret.), ABMC Chairman

This year, Memorial Day carries a deeper resonance as we also reflect on the end of the Second World War 80 years ago. On May 8, the U.S. and its allies commemorated V-E Day, marking the jubilant end of this long and devastating war across Europe. This September, more than eight decades will have passed since U.S. forces stood aboard the decks of the USS Missouri to accept the formal surrender of Japan, bringing to a close the conflict that cost tens of millions of human lives.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who led the surrender proceedings, noted that day his hope for all mankind that “a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past,” one dedicated to the dignity of all and to the principles of, “freedom, tolerance and justice.”

It is for these principles, and for the immense sacrifices made by our service members to achieve them, that the American Battle Monuments Commission carries out its mission of commemoration today at 26 U.S. military cemeteries in 10 countries around the world.

Wrapped up in all these dates we mark on a calendar are the stories of the thousands of individual men and women who answered the call. Their courage, sacrifice and unwavering resolve defined our national character and is honored to this day in the countries we helped free from tyranny.

Their names are etched on more than 90,000 Latin crosses and Stars of David at our ABMC World War II cemeteries overseas. Those who are still missing are remembered on the Walls of the Missing, and the remains of many more were returned home to be buried in their hometown cemeteries.

Along with their comrades who survived the war, the Greatest Generation earned victory on the beaches of Normandy, in the skies over Europe, in the jungles of the Pacific and in the icy waters of the Atlantic. They answered the nation’s call and more than 400,000 paid the ultimate price.

Memorial Day is the day to remember them, and to remember all of those who have perished in war.

It’s for the paratrooper who never made it past the drop zone in Normandy.
For the Marine who sacrificed his own life to save another on Iwo Jima.
For the airman who was shot down in the skies over Vietnam.
For the medic who ran toward enemy fire in Fallujah.
And for the young corpsman who stepped on an IED in Kandahar.

These were not just soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. They were sons and daughters, husbands and wives, neighbors and friends. Their stories did not end with their deaths. They live on through us—if we choose to remember.

ABMC invites everyone to remember these service members. Tell their stories. Share the stories of your own loved ones on this day of remembrance, for as ABMC’s first chairman and General of the Armies Gen. John J. Pershing said, “time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”

In this anniversary year, pause, reflect and remember with pride, those who have answered our nation’s call to service. Think of how you can embody the values espoused by the Greatest Generation. The choices we make as citizens show gratitude for the freedoms they defended.

This Memorial Day, as we honor those we’ve lost across generations of conflict, let us pledge to do more than remember. Let us live lives that reflect their courage. Let us defend the freedoms they died to protect. And let us teach the next generation that patriotism is not a relic of the past—it is the inheritance of the future.

Because the greatest tribute we can offer our fallen heroes is not simply to recall their sacrifice—but to be worthy of it.

U.S. Army retired Gen. Michael X. Garrett was appointed Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission in 2023. He served 38 years in the United States Army, finishing his tenure as the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command in 2022.