A Special Memorial Day

Instead of just being a long holiday, this Memorial Day can be a solemn occasion for all Americans to remember not only the military personnel who lost their lives to preserve America and its freedoms – most recently in Afghanistan – but those ordinary citizens who lost their lives on Sept. 11.

More Americans were killed on that day than any single day since the Civil War's Battle of Antietam.

And if last September's tragedy has taught Americans anything, it's that everyone must stand as a ready patriot. Many on Sept. 11 found themselves in just such roles, and many rose admirably to the occasion.

The wave of patriotism in the days following the attacks shows a collective and ongoing eagerness to honor those who fell for liberty's cause.

This Memorial Day can help set the right tone for commemorations on the coming Fourth of July and for many Sept. 11ths to come, not only for lost soldiers but for those who wore police badges, firefighter uniforms, and just plain street clothes on the first day of the war on terrorism.