As Americans Celebrate Memorial Day, Rep. Harrigan Issues a Sobering Reminder

As the country celebrates a long weekend with time at the beach, family cookouts, or maybe even 15% off at a Memorial Day sale, Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., is asking Americans to remember the price that has already been paid for their holiday weekend.

“Memorial Day is a time of sadness, and it’s where you remember those who actually gave their lives in service to our country,” Special Forces veteran Harrigan told the Daily Signal. “It’s a day of remembrance; it’s a day of somber sadness.”

He added that Americans should “relish in the great blessings” the United States of America provides, but also “realize that it didn’t happen on its own, and a lot of people paid a very steep price to provide that experience.”

Harrigan is a decorated Special Forces war veteran with two Bronze Stars. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy.

He shared just how much Memorial Day means to him.

“I carry a folder in my briefcase, and I have all my West Point classmates who are no longer with us. On Memorial Day, that hits really hard,” Harrigan said.

Memorial Day is also a day that many members of Congress come across the aisles in a show of bipartisanship, such as for the annual tradition of washing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.

“When you wash that wall and you see the names of so many tens of thousands of Americans who died, you realize the enormity of the sacrifice,” Harrigan said.

About 20% of Congress members are veterans. Just 6% of U.S. citizens have served in the military, and only 1% are currently on active duty. This perspective has helped Harrigan lead in Congress.

Harrigan reflected on having to make tactical-level decisions on the battlefield while someone else in Washington made strategic decisions. “The quality of those decisions oftentimes influenced the outcome at the tactical level,” he said.

“Understanding the role and responsibility that we have at the strategic level to set the conditions for our military to be successful—or with our poor decisions not setting the conditions for them to be successful with the improper decisions being made—puts a lot of weight on your shoulders,” Harrigan continued.

This Memorial Day, Harrigan asked Americans to stop and think of the number of people who have given their lives in service to the country.

“Not one single generation of Americans has ever escaped the title of combat veteran,” he said. “Fully realizing that we have to earn their sacrifice, that’s our charter each and every day moving forward. Are we worthy of their sacrifice?”