A Memorial Day Message from Team GovX

At GovX, we always want to remember the person behind every rank, rifle, and responsibility. Whether you’re serving overseas defending and supporting America’s and her allies’ interests, or reporting to duty every day here at home, we see you and we recognize you. Memorial Day is a moment where we can and should remember not only those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom and democracy, but those who proudly wear the uniform every day.

On this Memorial Day, we hope you are enjoying the third day in your long weekend. Memorial Day may be the day when we remember those who have died while serving in the US armed forces, but that doesn’t mean we should feel guilty for enjoying our weekend. If you were lucky enough to enjoy a long weekend, we hope you enjoyed all those epic, American traditions: Barbecues. Ball games. Beers and good times with friends and families. Personally, we’re big fans of cornhole and craft beer.

But today, add a moment of silence to your celebration. Pause and reflect on the true meaning of today. This is a time to remember military servicemembers who are no longer with us. Remember the fallen, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice on battlefields across the world.

While you’re at it, take a moment to remember the humanity in every person serving in the military as well as veterans no longer on active duty. As we close out Military Appreciation Month here on the GovX blog, we look back on the handful of articles with veterans who remain connected to the military community.

All of them, in their own ways, work in the middle ground between American civilians and the military servicemembers who wear the uniform on their behalf. We spoke to Perry Yee, Navy SEAL veteran and founder of Active Valor, the nonprofit dedicating to making sure no one ever forgets the families who’ve sacrificed the most during the last two decades. We interviewed Phil Klay, the Marine veteran and author, on what it means to be an American during a period of uncertain, invisible war. We learned about The Tactical Games from Nick Thayer, the Coast Guard veteran with an open door policy for anyone interested in running and gunning. And we featured an original story from Marine veteran Ben Kent on why you should always, always steer clear of the stray cats on base.