The price of freedom: An Alaska Memorial Day reflection by Rep. Jamie Allard

By REP. JAMIE ALLARD

As Alaskans gather this Memorial Day for barbecues, road trips, fishing trips, and the unofficial start of summer, communities across our state are also pausing to remember the true meaning of the holiday: honoring the millions of American service members who gave their lives in defense of our nation.

Memorial Day, observed this year on Monday, May 25, traces its roots to the years following the Civil War and remains one of America’s most solemn observances. It is not simply a long weekend or a celebration of summer’s arrival. It is a sacred day set aside to remember those who never came home.

Here in Alaska, that meaning runs especially deep.

Few states have a stronger connection to military service than Alaska. From Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to Eielson Air Force Base, from the Aleutian Islands’ role in World War II to today’s growing importance in Arctic defense, Alaska has stood on the front lines of protecting America. Ours is a state filled with veterans, active-duty military families, and Gold Star families who understand firsthand the cost of freedom. They live it each day.

The Alaska Veterans Memorial at Mile 147.2 of the Parks Highway stands as one of the state’s most powerful tributes to those who served and sacrificed. But across Alaska, in small community cemeteries, local memorials, VFW halls, and American Legion posts, the memory of our fallen is preserved with equal reverence.

This Memorial Day, ceremonies and observances are taking place across the state. Anchorage will host memorial events at Fort Richardson National Cemetery and the Delaney Park Strip Veterans Memorial. Fairbanks, the Mat-Su Valley, Juneau, Kenai, and smaller communities statewide will hold ceremonies, parades, flag displays, and moments of remembrance.

For many Alaska families, Memorial Day is deeply personal.

It is a day to visit cemeteries, place flowers and flags on graves, and remember loved ones who died serving our country. For Gold Star families especially, this is not merely a holiday. It is a painful reminder of sacrifice and loss that never truly fades.

“Freedom is not free.”

Those words, engraved at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., remain among the truest ever spoken. Every freedom we enjoy today was secured by someone willing to stand in harm’s way on behalf of others. Someone, somewhere, paid this freedom forward with the ultimate sacrifice.

More than 1.2 million Americans have died in military service since 1775. Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands more have given their lives in the wars and conflicts that followed, including many brave men and women from Alaska.

This Memorial Day, I find myself reflecting once again on the words of President Ronald Reagan, who reminded Americans that “freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

Reagan also spoke of the quiet patriotism that sustains our nation. They are the Americans who serve, sacrifice, work hard, raise families, support their communities, and answer the call when duty requires it. But among our greatest heroes are those resting beneath the simple white markers in cemeteries across this country. Row after row of crosses, Stars of David, and crescents remind us of the terrible price paid for the liberties we often take for granted.

Many of those heroes now rest here in Alaska.

They were men and women of extraordinary courage who ran toward danger, flew into hostile skies, crossed stormy seas, and endured unimaginable hardship to preserve our nation and its ideals. Through every generation, America has endured because people like them were willing to sacrifice everything for something greater than themselves.

As we enjoy this beautiful Alaska weekend, whether we’re hanging flower baskets, gathering with family, brushing the cobwebs off fishing poles, and savoring the return of warm weather, let us not forget why we are free to do so.

Please join me this Memorial Day in remembering those who gave their lives for our country, and in honoring the families who carry that sacrifice forward every day.

It is never too late to be properly appreciative.

Rep. Jamie Allard serves Eagle River in the Alaska State Legislature. She is a U.S. Army veteran and the wife of a veteran.