Honoring Those Who Wear the Uniform of the United States

Memorial Day is an opportunity for all of us to honor the brave Americans who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. We are forever grateful to them for defending our freedoms and way of life in the United States. Our fallen service members deserve to be remembered and honored every day, and especially on Memorial Day.

Countless South Dakotans have served in the military since our state joined the nation, and we have a proud history of honoring their service and thanking their families for their sacrifice as well. Still to this day, when service members are deployed, communities join together to send them off. They also organize welcome home ceremonies to greet them upon their return.

Nearly every county in the state has at least one memorial honoring local veterans. In our state’s capital city of Pierre, we have memorials honoring veterans from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War. The Capital Journal published a story recently about members of the Pierre/Fort Pierre Vietnam Era Veterans Association organizing a clean-up day to take care of the veterans’ memorials near the State Capitol Building. I’m grateful for their efforts to keep the memorials in good shape for years to come. Their continued service to their community, their country and to the memories of their fellow service members is inspiring.

A new Vietnam veterans memorial was dedicated this April at the Black Hills National Cemetery, and I was honored to participate. It was a cold day and there was snow on the ground, but hundreds of veterans and their family members showed up to support their fellow veterans and fallen military members.

The Black Hills National Cemetery is a resting place for area veterans who have served. It was dedicated by the Army in 1948. Last year, Sen. John Thune, then-Rep. Kristi Noem and I worked to get legislation signed into law to permanently expand the cemetery. Now, the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota will be a resting place for veterans for many years to come. It was a small way for us to show our gratitude to the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces.

While Memorial Day honors those who paid the ultimate price serving our nation, we can also honor their sacrifice by taking proper care of our current military personnel. I have the honor of serving on both the Armed Services and Veterans’ Affairs Committees in the Senate. On the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I continue working to make sure our veterans receive the care and benefits they have been promised following their service to our country. The Armed Services Committee focuses on making sure current military members have all the tools and resources they need to fulfill their duties and return home safely.

The Senate Armed Services Committee recently passed this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included $750 billion in defense spending to help our military continue to rebuild and modernize the force. We also included a pay raise for troops—the largest in a decade. The NDAA is one of the bills we work on each year that is consistently done on time and with strong bipartisan support. I look forward to continuing that tradition again this year.

It’s so important we honor and recognize the lives of the military members we have lost. Our country would not be free if not for their sacrifices, and the sacrifices of all the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States. Memorial Day is a special day to remember them.  

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