Memorial Day

Military Appreciation Month was started in 1999 to recognize and thank the military for their service. But Memorial Day is specifically to honor and remember those who gave their lives in the service of their country. "[T]ime and time again brave men and women have been willing to fight for the freedoms we all too often take for granted.

photo: .977  Radio Network

To be even more specific - let's honor those (1335 Americans) who were killed in Ramadi, Anbar Province, Iraq, in 2004-2007. Some people - like parents of the fallen - are acutely aware of the sacrifice, since Ramadi was overtaken by ISIS this month.

While the U.S. State Department thinks it was a major blow to the fight against ISIS, Gen. Dempsey remarked that Ramadi was not that important. The mom of the first Navy Seal to die there put a personal face on it in her letter:

“You, sir, owe an apology to the families whose loved ones’ blood was shed in Ramadi. Ramadi matters to us and is very symbolic to us. You need to apologize to our troops whose bodies were blown to pieces from IEDs and bullet holes leaving parts and pieces behind. Ramadi matters to them. "