Memorial Day is the traditional beginning to a season of camping, fishing, hiking, climbing, rafting — all the stuff that makes Colorado a summer destination for tourists and a playground for locals. Kids are out of school, too, so it’s time to head for the great outdoors and soak in the sun.

But Memorial Day is much more than that, of course. It also is a time of profound remembrance. 

While enjoying picnics, road trips, walks in the park and holiday festivities, let’s not forget those who defended the good life many of us often take for granted. They are not with us this weekend but remain in our photos, memories and family lore.

As our nation’s armed forces mobilize once again, Memorial Day 2026 takes on all the more meaning.

More than 1.2 million Americans have died in military service since the start of the Civil War, which alone killed about 620,000.

We celebrate all fallen service personnel not because they are deceased, but because of what they fought for, died for and left for those who live. They died for a country in which all people, of every origin, would be free to communicate, transact, associate, worship and mostly live as they please.

If it weren’t for the toll of the union’s Revolutionary War, we would not have a country. If not for the Civil War’s dead, we would not be 50 sovereign states comprising the United States of America — sharing roads, highways, forests, national parks, national defense and a sense of equality.

Someday, God willing, the world will attain lasting peace — how to value and sustain it. In such a world, wars could be a distant memory. 

More than 2 million Americans serve in the armed forces — including about 50,000 Coloradans. All work with knowledge they might give their lives so others may live as they choose in relative peace.

Military service inevitably involves the risk of injury and death. Just since 1980, when today’s young retirees were in high school, America has lost more than 60,000 people in military service in wars abroad to protect us and our allies. Colorado, as home to major military installations, has lost more than its per-capita share.

Memorial Day reminds us of the sacrifices and risks essential to freedom, while also reminding us of the rewards. Today is simultaneously somber and joyous for good reason. Freedom is not free. For those who die defending it, and those who love them, the cost is stupendously high and forever. Yet, the reward could not be greater for everyone else.

Enjoy the RVs, barbecues, parades and reunions. Lay flowers on the graves of friends, relatives, and perfect strangers who died for us to have weekends like this. From anywhere, doing almost anything, pray for them, remember them and thank them for this moment and all those to come.

Reverently celebrate lives cut short, while hoping and praying for a country like ours — a place of freedom, peace and prosperity — that someday doesn’t need others to make the ultimate sacrifice. Enjoy the occasion, never forgetting why our lives are so good.