NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Monday, people across the state of Arkansas gathered to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Speakers at the State Memorial Day Program in North Little Rock said they hope we never lose sight of what Memorial Day means for so many.
We often hear the phrase "all gave some, some gave all." It's a phrase that holds special meaning for Lt. Colonel Jason Smedley, the keynote speaker at the ceremony.
"For those who have served, understand the sacrifice you made in your service, and also the sacrifices made by those who are no longer here. Because of them, many of us are able to come back to our loved ones," he explained. "Make no mistake that our ideas and our freedoms are intact because of their actions, their acts of courage, their acts of selflessness, our reasons we are able to enjoy the life that we have today."
Lt. Colonel Smedley has been in the Marines for 24 years and serving in the military is something that runs in his family.
"There's a James Holley. He was the first Marine in our family. My dad was named after him. He served in the Korean War and was killed there, but he was the first Marine in our family and I always love to hear the stories from my uncle Bubba about his great duty and his honor. And I just want to live up to that," he said.
Now he hopes to keep the Memorial Day tradition alive for years to come and teach the younger generation its importance.
"It has been a long-lasting tradition since the 1860s. And it's a way to remember that our freedoms don't just come easy. It comes through sacrifice that comes through actions. And that's the price that it's going to take for us to continue to have these freedoms for the future," he added.