Illinois Senate Republicans officially opened their third annual Memorial Day Wall of Remembrance display in the state Capitol Rotunda Tuesday.
Southern Illinois Senator and Marine Corps veteran Paul Schimpf says if we want to honor the sacrifices of our fallen, then we must understand why they laid down their lives. He says they didn't do it for a better education or career opportunity.
"They give their lives because they believe that their family, their friends, their community and their country were all worth fighting and dying for."
Schimpf says we also owe it to our fallen to nurture the gift they gave us.
"It is up to us, the living, to rededicate our lives every day, not just Memorial Day, to the truth that we, our communities, and our country are worthy of their sacrifice."
Located in the Capitol Rotunda, the Wall of Remembrance display is open to the public from May 26 to July 4, during normal business hours.
General John A. Logan helped establish Memorial Day in 1868.
