Honor the Brave This Memorial Day by Reading These Heartwarming Quotes
Who's ready for a long weekend of grilling, pool parties, and refreshing drinks?! 🙌 For many, Memorial Day is a three-day weekend that allows us to enjoy these holiday activities, but it's also a time to reflect on what it means to be American. And we have our fallen soldiers—who have sacrificed it all—to thank for that. So, before we get ready to enjoy those tasty Memorial Day recipes, let's take some time to remember the real meaning of the holiday by reading some of these beautiful Memorial Day quotes.
Memorial Day is, first and foremost, a sacred day focused on remembering the millions of brave heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. And these Memorial Day quotes help us dive in to that commemoration. Like a patch of red poppies, each and every one of these patriotic quotes will remind you just how exceptional these soldiers really were, and how much their lives mattered. As Tamra Bolton says, "This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn't come home. This is not Veteran's Day, it's not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom."
Take a stroll through these best Memorial Day quotes, and let us know which ones spoke to you the most!
Moshe Dayan
“Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”
Aurora Raigne
“America, for me, has been the pursuit and catching of happiness.”
Fanny Lewald
“That is the truly beautiful and encouraging aspect of freedom; no one struggles for it just for himself.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick
“Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have.”
Lupita Nyong'o
“Dreams are the foundation of America.”
Rudyard Kipling
“All we use or know — this our fathers bought for us long ago.”
Gen. George S. Patton
“It's better to fight for something in life than to die for nothing.”
Paul Tsongas
“America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.”
George Bernard Shaw
“Liberty is the breath of life to nations.”
Norman Schwarzkopf
“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”
John Adams
“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.”
Daniel Webster
“Let their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.”
Elie Wisel
“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory there would be no civilization, no future.”
Calvin Coolidge
“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”
William J. Clinton
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.”
Billy Graham
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.”
Charles E. Jefferson
“A man is a patriot if his heart beats true to his country.”
Robert G. Ingersoll
“He loves his country best who strives to make it best.”
St. Ambrose
"No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks."
Helen Keller
"So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good."
Cynthia Ozick
"We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."
George S. Patton, Jr.
"The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one's country."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Bob Riley
"I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism."
Aristotle
"You will never do anything in this world without courage."
Ronald Reagan
"Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran does not have that problem."
Jeff Miller
"The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude."
Tamra Bolton
"This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn't come home. This is not Veteran's Day, it's not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom."
John F. Kennedy
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them."
Judd Gregg
"The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment."
Francis A. Walker
"We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them."
Joseph Campbell
"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."
Sgt. Major Bill Paxton
"May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn’t free."
Theodore Roosevelt
"Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering."
Ronald Reagan
"…And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice."
George S. Patton
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived."
Barack Obama
"Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay."
Wallace Bruce
"Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours."
Nathan Hale
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
James A. Garfield
"For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue."
Calvin Coolidge
"Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion."
Jennifer M. Granholm
"Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops, and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well."
Bob Dylan
"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."
Joseph Rodman Drake
"And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave."
Elmer Davis
"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."
John F. Kennedy
"My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
Claudia Pemberton
"America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels."
Nick Lampson
"There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country."
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