Today is not a day for the living.
Memorial Day belongs to the men and women who did not come home. To the Marines who never came back from the beaches of Saipan and Tinian, where some of the costliest weeks of the Pacific War were fought on the islands we still call home. To every Commonwealth son and daughter who answered when called and did not return.
The Marianas have always given more than their share. Generations of men and women continue to raise their right hand, to represent our islands, and to carry the torch of freedom. Our islands have sent their best, and too many have not come back. Some are buried at Marpi. Some are at sea. Some lie in cemeteries on the U.S. mainland, far from the islands that raised them.
For those of us who came home, the day asks one thing of us, and one thing only. Not parades. Not speeches. Not even prayer, though prayer is welcome. The day asks us to remember. To carry the absence forward on behalf of the families who cannot set it down.
If you are at the Veterans Cemetery in Marpi today, stand a little longer at a stone that catches your eye. If you are at home, take a moment of your day for someone you knew, or someone who served before you were born. If you are with your children, tell them why the flag flies at half-staff until noon, and then rises back to the top.
To the Gold Star families of the Commonwealth, the staff at NMI News Service holds you in our hearts today. You have given the most. We remember with you.
Si Yu’us Ma’åse’. Ghillisow. Salamat Po. Thank you.
Brad Ruszala is a U.S. military veteran and serves as Commander of VFW Post 3457 in Saipan. He is the Founder and News Director of NMI News Service.