WEBVTT

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When you look across the rolling hills

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and quiet rows of Arlington , you don't

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just see white marble . If you've been

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to war , you see faces .

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I spent my career operating in a blast

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radius alongside some of the most

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lethal and dedicated warriors on Earth .

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We fought in the dirt and the dust . We

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bled together . We survived together .

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But the brutal truth of war is that not

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all of us come home . Every one of us

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who has worn the uniform in combat

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carries a list . You don't write it

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down . You don't have to . It's

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burned into your soul . It's the name

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of the teammates you pulled from the

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wreckage . The friends you shared the

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last meal with . The brothers and

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sisters who literally gave everything

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they had to the mission . To the cause

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and to each one of us . The freedoms we

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enjoy today were purchased by those who

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never saw tomorrow .

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Memorial Day is not just a holiday .

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For this nation , it is a day of

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remembrance and gratitude .

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For those of us who have worn the

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uniform . It is a day of reckoning

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It's the day we hear those names again

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in the solitude of our own minds and

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ask ourselves whether we are living a

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life worthy of the blood they shed . To

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the Gold Star families who live with an

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empty chair at the table every single

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day . The nation owes you a debt we can

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never repay . And your sacrifice serves

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as our North Star . There's a

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saying , A warrior dies twice .

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The first time is when their heart

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stops beating . The second is when

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their name is no longer spoken .

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We must never allow the names of our

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nation's warriors to fade . We must

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carry their memories and hold the line .

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We must speak their names out loud or

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in the quiet of our hearts .

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We must never forget .