Memorial Day is a day to recognize sacrifice, acknowledging it as a characteristic of what is best about people.
To give of oneself to help others is indeed noble.
All of the brave Americans who have served in the United States Armed Forces have sacrificed to protect the rest of us. They’ve sacrificed time with their families, their own pursuits and interests, and the comforts many of us take for granted. Some never returned from war and conflict; their sacrifice surely earned them high honor.
They gave their lives for our safety, and that display of faith, loyalty and fortitude deserves our perpetual thanks and a degree of respect beyond measure.
Let’s take this opportunity to honor our forebearers, our brothers and sisters, and our neighbors who have honored us by standing up for us and never backing down. A single day could never be enough to show our appreciation, so let’s recognized them whenever we say their names or visit their resting places. Let’s make our thank you as permanent as their sacrifice.
And when we give reverence on Memorial Day, let’s honor the dead but also recognize our veterans still among us who have put their lives on the line and continue a life of dedication and service in our communities.
They’re all around us, and they are leaders, teachers, caregivers and protectors. They give of themselves to make their communities stronger.
At Geisinger, veterans are with us as colleagues … at every level of employment. They are executive leaders and chief administrators, doctors and nurses, Life Flight crew members and advanced practitioners, operations managers and advocacy program champions.
We are grateful to have more than 700 veterans working with us to care for our communities, and their rigor, focus, skill and selflessness makes us better every day.
With more than a year of living with COVID-19 behind us, let’s remember the courageous National Guard units who risked their own safety to provide infrastructure and personnel in areas of outbreak, like senior care facilities. They cared for the sick and supported civilian providers in scenarios that seemed beyond control for anyone else.
They organized, built and staffed mass testing sites throughout the country, so we could get people with COVID-19 the care they needed while also getting a better idea of the amount of viral activity in our communities. They’ve run warehouses, assembled test kits, and screened passengers at ports of entry.
And most recently, they’ve been instrumental in getting lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines administered to people who need them. Capable of developing and executing large-scale vaccination sites, the National Guard has gotten us closer to a safer society while also reaching rural and underserved communities.
So, let’s pause for a moment of silence this Memorial Day, tend to the graves of our lost loved ones, and remember everything they stood for. And let’s honor their memory by appreciating the sacrifice happening before us every day, not only among the soldiers who are risking their lives to protect us abroad but also those who are risking their lives to protect us at home.
To them, we are forever grateful.