Richard LeBaron, Chargé d'Affaires a.i.

Speeches & Remarks

25 May 2009
Remarks at the Memorial Day Commemoration

Madingly Memorial Cemetery
Cambridge, England

Headstones line up in neat rows at Madingly Memorial Cemeteryin Cambridge, England
U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher L. Ingeroll)

For well over a century, Americans have gathered together and paused each year to remember those who gave their lives to preserve our liberty, freedom and democracy. We gather in town squares, community centers, on Main Street and, most often, in places which honor those who have fallen. The many white markers in American military cemeteries such as these are a measure of the total sacrifice made by our soldiers, sailors and airmen; a measure of the loss resolutely faced by their families; and a measure of the young lives and talents spent by our nation in defense of our cherished values.

Remembering this sacrifice is especially poignant this year, on the 200th anniversary of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's best-known speech, the Gettysburg address, can be recited by thousands of school children across America and its words have inspired generations of Americans. But it is often forgotten that Lincoln gave his address in a setting not unlike the one we are in today: at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Pennsylvania. Speaking only four months after the tremendous loss of life at the Battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln redefined the Civil War not as a struggle between Union and Confederacy, between North and South, but as struggle to validate the Founding Fathers’ belief that all men are created equal and that freedom is worth fighting for. The 3,812 Americans buried here in Cambridge are the spiritual descendants of those Civil War soldiers, who left friends and family behind, never to see them again.

Hugh Duberly, Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, speaks to a somber audience during the Memorial Day ceremony at Madingley Memorial Cemetery, May 25, 2009. The event included a wreath laying and a 21-gun salute.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher L. Ingeroll)

Overseas cemeteries such as the one we are in today are also a bond between those who lost their lives and those who continue to live in freedom in countries where Americans have fought and died. The United States maintains 24 American cemeteries around the world, from Panama to the Philippines, from Mexico to France. I have visited the cemeteries in Tunisia and Luxembourg and walked among some of the 125,000 American war dead who will lie forever in foreign fields. These cemeteries serve as a stark reminder of the crises we have faced as a nation, and as an inspiration to those who face national challenges today and tomorrow. But they also remind us that we do not face these challenges alone. The thirty acres this cemetery was built on were donated to the American people by Cambridge University, and are proof of the shared sacrifice and common bond between the people of the United States and of the United Kingdom.

While Memorial Day is primarily a time to remember those who died for our country, it is also a time to think of our troops and civilians serving in harm’s way today. I have no doubt that many of you have served in combat zones, and with the challenges our country faces today some may be called upon to do so again. For that, I thank you.

As President Lincoln did a century and a half ago, we are facing a time of challenge to our way of life and the ideals we hold dear. Paying tribute to those who have fallen before is necessary. It reminds us of what it has cost our nation to get to where we are today. It encourages us to face today's challenges bravely, as did these soldiers. And it gives us hope for the future to see what we can accomplish as a nation. President Lincoln could not have imagined an America as diverse, free and equal as the one we have today. The soldiers, sailors and airmen buried here helped shape this America. For that we will be eternally grateful to them, to the thousands of others who have passed before, and to those who stand ready today to lay down their lives to preserve our freedom. As President Lincoln said on that day in Gettysburg in 1863, "from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."

The honor guard prepares to fire. (USAF photo)

Jonna Doolittle Hoppes, granddaughter of Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, Col. Edin J. Murrie, 100th Air Refueling Wing commander, and Maj. Gen. Mark R. Zamzow, 3rd Air Force vice commander lay wreaths at the Wall of the Missing at Madingley Memorial Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 25, 2009. The cemetery is the final resting place for thousands of American veterans. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher L. Ingersoll)

Jonna Doolittle-Hoppes, granddaughter of Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, speaks of the courage and humility of the soldiers she has met as a writer during the Memorial Day ceremony at Madingley Memorial Cemetery, May 25, 2009. Ms. Doolittle-Hoppes said "I know her grandfather would be proud of the men and woman fighting today." (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Christopher L. Ingersoll)

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