Do you know how important May 26th is this year? No, Miley Cyrus isn’t releasing a new song. No, One Republic isn’t touring near us. And no, Rick Riordan isn’t having a book signing here. It’s Memorial Day. We remember and celebrate Memorial Day for many reasons, like respecting people who fought for our freedom and didn’t get to experience it for themselves, or for their grieving families, and for war Veterans who are now traumatized because of their experience. So when you think about Memorial Day, it is, in a way, about celebrities; it’s about the celebrities who fought for our country and helped us gain our freedom.

We remember Memorial Day for many reasons, and one is because soldiers who fight in the war that don't always come back. Imagine how that would feel, if your mom or dad went off to fight in the war, and then someone tells you they're gone. It would feel unreal and unfair to you. But as unfair as it is, it’s not unreal because it happens all of the time, and that’s why we celebrate Memorial Day.

We don't celebrate Memorial Day just for fire trucks in parades that throw candy, but because there are some kids who now only have one parent. There is a wife or a husband who now lost their other half. There’s a sister or a brother who are now an only child. Many people die for our country, and many families lose part of their normal life. A child will never meet their father, or you won’t hear your mom or dad’s car pull in the driveway, or you’ll never hear their laugh or smell their distinct smell or even feel their rough hand on your back as they tell you goodbye. Memorial Day is remembered because people who lost a loved one to war, their lives will never be the same and they will always be damaged because someone they loved dearly is gone, gone forever for me and you and everyone else in the U.S.A.

Memorial Day is more than just a holiday, it’s more than just fireworks and candy. We remember Memorial Day as a kind of salute to those veterans who came back from war, who came back from fighting for our freedom. We remember Memorial Day because those veterans who fought for our freedom will never be the same as they were before the war they fought in. A mother can't watch fireworks with her daughter because they sound too much like gunshots. And a husband hasn't slept soundly in over 15 years because of nightmares. Or even your neighbor, who can't step outside without hearing a war-zone. All veterans don't live the same way when they come back; they will never be the same because of what they've gone through, and that's why we remember Memorial Day.

Because of the people who fought and are fighting for our country, you can sit at a computer, or go to school, or eat junk food, or even go to a friend's house; you have freedom. You wouldn't be able to do any of this normal stuff if people you might not even know didn't put your freedom above their homes and time they spend with their families and even their lives. And without any of the Army's Celebrities, we wouldn't have a Memorial Day to remember.