Honoring Our Military on Memorial Day and Every Day

May is National Military Appreciation Month and today is Memorial Day, times to honor our military service men and women who protect our Nation.

Our veterans have sacrificed so much for keeping our country safe and free, but do we ever take the time to tell them? Next time you see a local veteran, shake his or her hand and say "thank you" -- that all of the sacrifices were worth it.

Memorial Day originally began as a time for the families of Civil War soldiers to commemorate the heroic actions of their deceased family members. Over the years, it came to serve as a commemoration to remember all the U.S. men and women killed or missing in action when serving their country.

National Military Appreciation Month was officially recognized by Congress, beginning in 1999, when a woman named Alice Wax took up the cause to educate people about our veterans and active personnel. She learned that many people are not aware of or do not understand the importance of the service given by our military personnel. According to the official website for this national recognition, www.nmam.org, there are events being held across the Nation this month to salute our military personnel.

We shouldn't wait until our veterans are gone to treasure them. These veterans are living history and we can learn so much from them. They sacrificed so much. Their honorable service to their country was courageous as they left their comfortable surroundings of home and helped to not only protect our nation, but other nations in the fight for freedom.