Opinion

The day after Memorial Day, America’s debt to the fallen still remains

Lincoln's Gettysburg charge to complete 'the unfinished work' of the fallen has not expired, even 250 years later

By Mike Sarraille , Kirk Offel Fox News

Published May 26, 2026 5:00am EDT

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Trump addresses the nation at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day

President Donald Trump delivers a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia honoring the nation’s fallen service members.

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As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we are not merely preparing to celebrate a birthday. We are being forced to take inventory.

Two and a half centuries of independence did not arrive cleanly, cheaply, or inevitably. This nation was built through sacrifice, protected through sacrifice, and if it is to endure, it will be protected through sacrifice still.

That is the hard truth Memorial Day asks us to confront. Not for one long weekend. Not for one parade. Not for one moment of silence before the burgers hit the grill. But every day after.

For those who have experienced war, Memorial Day is not confined to a square on the calendar. It lives in names, faces, dates, empty chairs, folded flags, and memories that arrive without warning. The fallen gave everything in an........

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