On July 1, 1973 another decision regarding freedom of choice was made that many critics said would fail and never achieve success.  On that date the decision to move from a military that was built from drafted personnel to a military that was based solely on those that volunteered to serve their country was made.  In the aftermath of the long Vietnam War this was a monumental decision that is credited in transforming our military into what has become today.

 The freedom to choose to become a member of the military bears a close tie to the commitment of those who signed the Declaration of Independence.  When we are allowed to pursue our convictions as part of a common goal our chances for success dramatically improve.  Everyone who is a part of the military today is there because they want to be.  They have sworn the oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies both foreign and domestic and to obey the orders of the Commander in Chief.  This common goal of serving our country in a chosen branch of the military and in a job of their choice again has proven the critics wrong again. 

Freedom is something that we have enjoyed for over 200 years and none of us will experience the sacrifice that the founders of our great country made so we can all enjoy the benefits of freedom.  We must honor their dream by always remembering that Freedom is not free!

Growing up in rural Nebraska, Memorial Day always had a special meaning.  It was the beginning of summer.  School was out and Memorial Day was the first parade of the summer.  Everyone in the community knew what the purpose was behind the three day weekend.  The parade always stopped at the court house in the center of town where a speaker would address the importance of the day and a 21 gun salute would honor the dead.  At each cemetery, relatives of the deceased veterans would gather to hear the names of the deceased that would be read, decorate the graves of the fallen with flags, hear taps that would be played and another volley of rifle fire would honor the sacrifices made. 

As Americans we have so much freedom we do not even give it a second thought.  Everyone else in the world does give thought to our freedoms.  We have freedom of religion, free speech, separation of church and state, the ability to own property, hospitals that provide the best health care possible the list goes on and on.  Some seek to use those freedoms against us.  Just as the 9/11 terrorists did. 

Meeting the children in small towns in Iraq, and they know about the freedoms Americans have, drives home the fact that what we have in America does not exist in other areas of the world.  It also drives home the fact that as Americans we need to make sure that together we make the sacrifices necessary to maintain our freedoms and pay homage to those who are making the sacrifices and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Sacrifice is something that many of us have no idea what it means or how to accomplish it.  Sacrifice is not spending more time in the drive through for morning coffee or lunch than desired.  It means putting your needs aside to accomplish a greater good. 

The sacrifice of our military has always been above and beyond what other members of our country experienced.  The separation from family, the unique living conditions, being place in life and death situations during both peace time training and actual combat is the reality of sacrifice for members of the military.

So on this Memorial Day weekend I urge everyone to take a moment to attend a ceremony in their community that recognizes the true meaning of this weekend.  I will be at a small courthouse with my family, in the middle of Nebraska honoring those that have fallen. 

At the beginning of the Iraq war, ice was a commodity that was worth its weight in gold to soldiers.  Occasionally, it could be purchased from local Iraqi venders.  It was possible to purchase 10 blocks of ice the size of railroad ties for $20 dollars.  This opportunity was soon forbidden because the quality of water going into the ice contained bacteria that no one would want to ingest knowingly. The enemy soon figured out how to insert explosives into the large blocks of ice. 

Necessity is the mother of all invention and gave birth to the idea of sock water.  The majority of our water came in 1 liter plastic bottles.  We would put the bottle of water in one of our socks and then douse the sock with water.  We would then tie the sock with the bottle of water in it to a mirror on our Humvee.  While driving, the evaporation of the water from the wet sock kept a bottle quite cool. The key was to always make sure the sock stayed wet and that the knot was secure.  It was always a sad moment when a bottle of water would fall off of your vehicle due to a poorly tied knot.  It would take another two hours to cool off a new bottle of water. 

A cool bottle of sock water always tasted good when the air temperature was well above the 120 degree range.  This simple technique saved many soldiers from the misery of heat exhaustion or heat stroke during the first summer in Iraq.