Earle-Sears, Youngkin Deliver Keynotes at Memorial Day Events

Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, a Marine Corps veteran, spoke at the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 66th Memorial Day Ceremony Monday, honoring the sacrifices made by service members and their families.

“The people we are here to honor, to remember, they don’t sit among us. If we are to see them, then we must visit their graves, whether they’re here or in some other country, and some, their whereabouts are unknown to us, known only to God,” Earle-Sears said from the Virginia War Memorial.

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Commentary: Memorial Day Is About Remembering Those Who Sacrificed for Our Freedom

On this Memorial Day, we honor and remember military service members who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the United States of America. 

Memorial Day is a day in which we commemorate the men and women who died while fighting against the evils of tyranny, radical terrorism, slavery, and religious persecution. Yet it is also a day in which we are grateful for what their sacrifices have meant for our nation and our people.

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Music Spotlight: Scott Stevens

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Once my friend told me about a tribute that Scott Stevens had written about his grandfather and uncle, I knew I had found the perfect song to share on Memorial Day.

Scott Stevens is a country music singer/songwriter from East Tennessee who recently released the single “Missin’ You” to country radio off his debut country record Every Hat Is A Cowboy Hat. He is also a Civil Rights attorney and lawyer.

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Gas Prices Set to Surge Again, Industry Analysis Shows

The price of gasoline is set to increase to $4 per gallon or more within five months, according to an industry analysis released Tuesday.

The gas price surge is forecasted to take place by Memorial Day in late May, according to the report from GasBuddy, an app that tracks pump prices, and shared with CNN. But the analysis said the average cost of gasoline at pumps nationwide would then fall throughout the summer and fall of 2022, declining below current prices.

“We could see a national average that flirts with, or in a worst-case scenario, potentially exceeds $4 a gallon,” Patrick De Haan, the director of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CNN.

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Murfreesboro Expands Juneteenth Celebration to Three Days, Nothing for Memorial Day

Murfreesboro announced Tuesday that they would be expanding their Juneteenth celebration to three days – but had nothing for Memorial Day. The Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department will oversee the Juneteenth festivities. 

For the three-day Juneteenth celebration, the city displayed a specialized logo decorated with a black power fist and Pan-African colors. The announcement and logo were displayed on the city’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. The city didn’t post any announcements about Memorial Day on their website or social media platforms.

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Biden Declines to Acknowledge D-Day, Psaki Sidesteps When Asked Why

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden did not acknowledge the 77th anniversary of D-Day on Monday, becoming the first president in recent history to fail to commemorate the monumental day in U.S. history. 

White House Press Secretary attempted to defend Biden on Monday during a press briefing when asked for an explanation on Biden’s decision. “Well, I can tell you that certainly, his value for the role the men who served on D-Day, and the memory of them, the families who have kept their memories alive over the course of years on this day is something the president has spoke to many times in the past. It’s close to his heart,” she said. 

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Commentary: Honoring America’s Heroes on Memorial Day 

Soldier at gravesite of U.S. veterans

On Memorial Day, we commemorate and honor our fellow Americans who gave their lives in service to our country. 

Throughout America’s history, our military men and women have bravely defended our God-given freedoms against the evils of religious persecution, slavery, foreign enemies, and radical terrorism.   

The first defenders of American freedom were the courageous Continental Army and its leader, General George Washington.  As we noted in our documentary “The First American,” it was a monumental challenge for Washington to mobilize a poorly trained and under-equipped army to victory against the British. 

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Commentary: Conservatives and Republicans Must Reclaim Memorial Day

Veteran cemetery with table set for lives lost who served America

In the face of the Far Left’s attempts to rewrite American history through the now-discredited 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory, Republicans and conservatives must reclaim the key dates and events in American history and there is no better place to start than Memorial Day 2021.

Memorial Day was created not as a “holiday” or an excuse for corporate merchants to advertise sales, but as a solemn commemoration of the dead of both sides in the American Civil War.

In that context Memorial Day commemorates a number of constitutional conservative values, not the least of which is the inviolability of the Constitution itself.

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Commentary: The Forgotten History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day History Headliner

by Richard Gardiner   In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country. The holiday was Memorial Day, and this year’s commemoration on May 27 marks the 151st anniversary of its official nationwide observance. The annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead. Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans’ fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday. Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Union’s former enemies, saying, “It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South.” I’m a scholar who has written – with co-author Daniel Bellware – a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday’s birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday…

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President Biden Gives Memorial Day Weekend Address in Hampton

President Joe Biden gave a Memorial-Day-weekend speech at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton on Friday afternoon. He highlighted the humility and sacrifice of the military and their families and emphasized that they defended the American principle that all men and women are equal. He also mentioned the service and death of his son Beau Biden.

“He was like a lot of you. You do your duty. You don’t expect anything for it except people having a general respect,” Biden said.

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Authorities Investigating Fatal Memorial Day Shooting, Eighth Officer-Involved Shooting This Month

Tennessee authorities announced Tuesday that they are investigating a Memorial Day shooting that resulted in the death of a Washington County man.

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report around 11:40 p.m. of a male subject threatening to harm himself and a relative at home. Deputies arrived at the scene and encountered Gary Dorton on the front porch, armed with a large knife.

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Judge Michael Warren Commentary: Remembering What Memorial Day Actually Means During COVID-19 Times

With much of the nation shutdown due to COVID-19, one might not even remember that May 25, 2020 is a Monday – or, more importantly, Memorial Day. The customary Memorial Day festivities of barbecues, beer, wearing white, traveling, and shopping will be truncated, if not arrested. But perhaps this is a sublime unintended consequence of social distancing and sheltering at home orders. If it settles our minds and let us focus on first things first – actually giving Memorial Day its due.

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‘Rolling Thunder’ Roars into DC, Trump Says it Will be Back Next Year

  President Donald Trump is indicating that hundreds of thousands of “Rolling Thunder” motorcycles will be back next year to participate in the Memorial Day observance in Washington, after organizers said Sunday would be the last such ride. “The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!,” Trump said on Twitter. The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019 Rolling Thunder Executive Director Artie Muller said he had grown frustrated with dealing with the Pentagon in coordinating the annual Ride for Freedom on Memorial Day and that Sunday would be the last time the ride would be held. He said sponsors,…

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Commentary: Why I’m Celebrating Memorial Day Differently This Year

by John Elliot   Paul Ellsworth says that he used to resent Memorial Day. Writing in Medium, he notes that by celebrating this holiday he felt he was somehow putting down other countries. Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” particularly irritated him. But now Ellsworth has changed his mind. One line of Greenwood’s hit song played a role in that: And I won’t forget the men who died Who gave that right to me Ellsworth explains: This was the year that it hit me the most. I guess because I have a lot of hope for my life. My writing is starting to get some attention. My sons and I are starting to connect on a deeper level. I am making connections with friends and family in a way that I haven’t made in years. I am working at a job that I absolutely love. All of these are privileges that I get to have because someone sacrificed those same blessings. American soldiers gave up all of these things — family, friends, and career — so that Ellsworth, and each of us, could enjoy them. Recognizing this, Ellsworth writes: Thank you, soldiers, who have died. Thank you, families, who have…

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The Forgotten History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day History Headliner

by Richard Gardiner   In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country. The holiday was Memorial Day, and this year’s commemoration on May 27 marks the 151st anniversary of its official nationwide observance. The annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead. Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans’ fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday. Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Union’s former enemies, saying, “It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South.” I’m a scholar who has written – with co-author Daniel Bellware – a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday’s birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday…

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Rep. Mark Green to Attend Memorial Day Events in Franklin, Decaturville

  U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) said in a press release that he has made it a priority throughout his time in Congress to honor the fallen and support Gold Star spouses and families and to honor veterans in general. His first bill in Congress was a bipartisan piece of legislation called the Protecting Gold Star Spouses Act to continue pay to Gold Star families during government shutdowns. Recently, Green introduced a second bill called the Protecting Gold Star Children Act. This bill would return Gold Star children to a tax rate derived from the parent’s tax bracket, instead of being taxed at a rate from trust fund tax brackets. Many children will go from a 37 percent rate to a 15 percent tax rate. Also, on Memorial Day on Monday, Rep. Mark Green will be attending and speaking at the Williamson County Memorial Day Service at the Veterans Park in Franklin at 10 a.m. CST. He will also be attending and speaking at a Decatur County Memorial Day event in Decaturville at 2:30 CST. “We should never forget the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom,” Green said. “Many Americans will gather around monuments on Memorial Day, paying their…

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Elks, VFW to Place 500 American Flags on Service Members’ Graves at Williamson Memorial Garden

  For the eighth year in a row, two organizations will place 500 American flags on the graves of service men and women at Williamson Memorial Garden. The Nashville-Franklin Lodge No. 72 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) in conjunction with the Veterans’ of Foreign Wars Franklin Post No. 4892 will place the flags on the graves at 5 p.m. on Friday, the BPOE said in a press release. Williamson Memorial Garden is located at 3009 Columbia Ave., Franklin, TN, 37064. These two groups, because of their love and support of those who have served, want to ensure that the meaning of Memorial Day is not forgotten, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks said. Memorial Day is the day we set aside to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of the United States of America. Memorial Day is one of three days set aside each year to honor the military; the other two are Military Appreciation Day and Veterans’ Day. Since 1897, the Nashville-Franklin Lodge No. 72 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has remembered the children and veterans of Nashville and the surrounding area. Richard Gardiner, Associate Professor…

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State Rep. Courtney Rogers Speaks About Her Father, Killed in Vietnam, At Sumner County Memorial Day Service

Courtney Rogers

GALLATIN, Tennessee – The Memorial Day ceremony held at Sumner County Veterans Park featured Rep. Courtney Rogers (R-Goodlettsville), a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and Tennessee Air National Guard member, as the keynote speaker during its midday event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) Chapter 240 and Associates of Vietnam Veterans. A few days prior, Rep. Rogers sent a personal email message about the Memorial Day event, to which she was invited to tell the story about her father. It was the first time she was able to tell as much of his story, her email stated, only recently learning more, as she reminded her supporters that her father flew HMX-1, also known as Marine I, for three U.S. Presidents and was later killed in Vietnam. Among the several hundred attendees, many of whom were military veterans, a number mentioned that it was Rogers’ email that inspired them to come out to the event despite the heat, humidity and threat of rain. The welcome was delivered by VVA Chapter 240 President Dave Peterson, followed by an opening prayer from the Chaplin.  The National Anthem, sung by Gold Star mother Cathy Mullin, followed the Presentation of Colors.  Recognition of…

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9th Annual ‘Healing Field – Flags of Remembrance’ in Murfreesboro Opens at The Grove

  For nearly a decade, Noon Exchange Club of Murfreesboro has put on the Healing Field Flags of Remembrance event over Memorial Day weekend. The volunteer-run event is a moving tribute to our veterans, military, and personal heroes. This year’s Healing Field is located at The Grove at Wilkinson Place, and will run through 5pm Monday, Memorial Day. At this morning’s opening ceremonies, volunteers gathered to dedicate and place hundreds of American flags across the Healing Field. A wagon brimming with American flags awaiting placement by the volunteers at this year’s opening ceremony. Boy Scout troop 3200 lent several helping hands. Sisters Mary Grace (left) and Elizabeth unfurl the Healing Fields flags. Long-time volunteer Joe is a Navy vet and his dog Jack is his fishing buddy. A group of Walmart employees volunteer again this year, and brought water to share with everyone. Sara Walker and her daughter Lilyana Gillespie were among the volunteers from the New Hope Lutheran Church in Murfreesboro. This is Mike Gann’s first time helping with the Healing Fields event. Shea Young and her children Julian and Rowan are first time volunteers at the Healing field. She and her husband are both veterans and they have a son currently serving…

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