Huckaby: This Memorial Day and beyond, honor those who gave their lives for our freedom

Darrell Huckaby, a native of Porterdale, Ga, is a double graduate of UGA and a retired educator with 40 years of classroom experience.

Time to celebrate. Time to begin summer. But, also time to remember.

There have been so many men - and some women - who have made the ultimate sacrifice, who have laid their lives on the altar of freedom. Tomorrow is the day we have set aside to honor those great people.

There is no bad day to say thank you to any veteran - but Memorial Day, respectfully, is not that day. And while I am being whatever the male equivalent to a “Karen” is, “Happy Memorial Day” is not really a proper expression, either.

The first American soldier fell in Lexington, Massachusetts, in the cold dawn of April in 1775. Since then, hundreds of thousands of others have laid their lives on the altar of freedom.

All across this country - and the world - there are the cemeteries of brave soldiers, all of whom had loved ones, all of whom had friends and family, all of whom had dreams and plans and a life that they wanted to live.

In Gettysburg, Pa., there is a large cemetery where our 16th president made one of the most famous speeches in US history, reminding the nation that “these hallowed dead shall not have died in vain.”

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Arlington National Cemetery... I can’t count the heroes entombed there. The best of the best. Marietta, Ga.  Andersonville. Punch Bowl National Cemetery of the Pacific on Oahu. The American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. Flanders Field. The list goes on and on and on.

So, what can we, the people, do, to honor them?

We can do a lot more than we are doing now. We can be a society that reflects their sacrifice. I am writing this particular missive from San Antonio. Yesterday we visited The Alamo - the Shrine to Texas Freedom. People in Texas appreciate those who have given their lives for their country. Texans also understand heartache and grief. The flags in front of The Alamo are at half-staff this week. The flags all over Texas are at half-staff.

We landed here Tuesday and as we headed west out of the city we were met by ambulance after ambulance, rushing east toward us. We had no idea at the time, but they were coming to the city from Uvalde, 50 miles away.

My heart broke when I heard what had happened and it breaks more with each news update.

And my heart breaks when I hear those we elect to represent us jump up and start placing blame and pointing fingers and trying to make political hay out of a horrific situation. We didn’t use to be like this. And we are better than this as a nation - or we need to be. Our soldiers didn’t die for this.

So, on Memorial Day, how can we best honor our war dead?

The best thing we can do to honor our war dead is to wake up and take a look at what we have done with the freedom they have purchased on our behalf. The best thing we can do is to so order our lives so that the country they fought to advance remains a bastion of hope and light in an ever-darkening world.

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The best thing we can do is to live our lives as Americans - and make sure that we remain one nation, under God, indivisible - with liberty and justice for all. That’s way better than attending a ceremony or flying a flag or putting a flower on a grave - not that we shouldn’t be attending ceremonies or flying flags or putting flowers on graves.

The best thing we can do to honor our war dead is to preserve our nation and strengthen our nation and hand it down to the next generation just a little bit better than we found it.

Now that would be the way to go about honoring our heroes.

We like to say God bless America. He has, y’all. He has. Now, once again, I pray that America can once again bless God.

“Oh beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife, who more than selves their country loved, and mercy more than life.”

America, America - indeed.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Honor soldiers who sacrificed their lives for America's freedom