Memorial Day Quotes: Heartfelt Sayings to Honor Our Heroes

Memorial Day is a time for reflection, appreciation, and honoring the brave individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice for the cherished values of freedom and liberty in America. Through their heroism and patriotism, these men and women have played an essential role in preserving our way of life and securing the blessings of freedom for future generations.

As we celebrate Memorial Day, it’s important to remember the importance of unity and love for our own people. This day reminds us of the courageous individuals who have selflessly put their lives on the line for the betterment of our country. By sharing Memorial Day quotes, we can pay tribute to these valiant individuals and express our gratitude for their sacrifices and dedication to the ideals of nationalism.

Quote List 1 – 25

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Elements of Sacrifice

1. “[…]a man who lived a life of ease [has] never left a name worth remembering.” – Theodore Roosevelt.

The Cost of Freedom

2. “Here men endured that a nation might live.” – Herbert Hoover.
3. “The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” – W.E.B. DuBois.

Defining Heroism

4. “In valor there is hope.” – Tacitus.
5. “The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” – Minot J. Savage.

Expressions of Patriotism

6. “The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree.” – Thomas Campbell.

7. “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy.

8. “There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.” – Bill Clinton.

9. “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt.

10. “America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.” – Paul Tsongas.

11. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” – Jeff Miller.

12. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” – Ronald Reagan.

13. *”Death is the blackest mark on the canvass of the soul.”_ – George S. Patton.

14. *”A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”_ – Joseph Campbell.

15. *”This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”_ – Elmer Davis.

16. *”Our obligation to our country never ceases but with our lives.”_ – John Adams.

17. *”The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.”_ – Benjamin Disraeli.

18. *”[…]they loved their country better than their own private interests.”_ – Daniel Webster.

19. *”‘Tis nobler to lose honor to save the lives of men than it is to gain honor by taking them.”_ – David Borenstein.

20. *”We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.”_ – Winston Churchill.

21. *”The hero is the man dedicated to the creation and / or defense of reality-conforming, life-promoting values.”_ – Ayn Rand.

22. *”Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.”_ – G.K. Chesterton.

23. *”[…]it is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God such men lived.”_ – George S. Patton.

24. *”The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated.”_ – Ronald Reagan.

25. *”To see the world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.”_ – William Blake.

Quote List 26 – 50

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Memories and Remembrance

1. You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor. —Aristotle¹
2. Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay. —Barack Obama²
3. No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks. —James Allen³

Inspirational Figures

4. Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country. —George Washington³
5. In valor there is hope. —Tacitus³
6. May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn’t free. —Sergeant Major Bill Ooorah Paxton⁴

The American Identity

7. This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day. It’s not a celebration. It is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom. —Tamra Bolton⁴
8. May we never forget freedom isn’t free. —Unknown⁵
9. The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. —Albert Camus⁵

Quote List 51 – 75

Historical Perspectives

1. “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” – Abraham Lincoln
2. “Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.” – Herbert Hoover

Reflections on Service

3. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou
4. “ I got to fight on till I leave here, and I hope I leave something here for my children, something that they can look at and say, ‘That’s daddy.’” – Elie Wiesel

Tales of Valor

5. “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.” – Norman Schwarzkopf
6. “There’s intense national feeling about not having veterans of the Civil War forgotten.” – Mary Roach
7. “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it… it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” – Tamra Bolton
8. “That willingness when you think about the risks, they say, ‘Yes, I am willing to give my life for others.’” – Jeff Miller
9. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy
10. “Heroes never die. They live on forever in the hearts and minds of those who would follow in their footsteps.” – Bob Riley

Honoring Veterans

11. “In the aftermath, we are because they were.” – RJ Heller
12. “We can’t equate spending on veterans with spending on defense.” – Bob Filner
13. “Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.” – Barack Obama

Fallen Soldiers

14. “They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.” – Laurence Binyon
15. “We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.” – Francis A. Walker

Quote List 76 – 100

Contemporary Musings

1. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill
2. “To those in uniform serving today and to those who have served in the past, we honor you today and every day.” – Barack Obama
3. “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” – St. Ambrose
4. “Never was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill
5. “We stand for freedom. That belief is rooted in our eternal defense of the cause of freedom.” – John Thune

The Legacy of Service

6. “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” – Muhammad Ali
7. “Here men endured that a nation might live.” – Herbert Hoover
8. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes.” – Maya Angelou
9. “The dead soldier’s silence sings our national anthem.” – Aaron Kilbourn
10. “And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.” – Joseph Rodman Drake

Celebrating Freedom

11. “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
12. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” – Thomas Jefferson
13. “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
14. “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” – Lee Greenwood
15. “We can’t all be Washingtons, but we can all be patriots.” – Charles F. Browne

Can Memorial Day Quotes Also Be Used to Honor Women?

On Memorial Day, inspiring women day quotes can also be used to honor the sacrifices and contributions of women in the military. These quotes serve as a tribute to the brave and dedicated women who have served their country and deserve to be remembered and celebrated on this special day.

Footnotes

1. Reader’s Digest ↩

2. Parade ↩

3. Today ↩ ↩² ↩³

4. Quote Ambition ↩ ↩²

5. Southern Living ↩ ↩²