53 Memorial Day Quotes To Honor Fallen Soldiers

These 50 Memorial Day quotes deserve to be shared to remind us of our soldiers' sacrifices every day, past and present, and also to help honor those who inspired such powerful words. Simply put, to say thank you. It's an honor and recognition of service we should have every day, not only on this occasion. Share these Memorial Day quotes this year to celebrate, honor, and remember.

01 of 05

Patriotic Memorial Day Quotes

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." –Ronald Reagan

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." –Ronald Reagan
"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them." –Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men." –Minot J. Savage
"Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." –Adlai E. Stevenson II
"Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran does not have that problem." –Ronald Reagan
"Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it." –Unknown
"For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue." –James A. Garfield
"This nation will remain the land of the free only as long as it is home of the brave." –Elmer Davis
“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country, can change it.” –Barack Obama
"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." –Albert Camus
"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." –President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth." –President George Washington
"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it." –William Faulkner

02 of 05

Memorial Day Quotes About Gratitude

"This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn't come home. This is not Veterans Day, it's not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom." –Tamra Bolton, in Parade essay

"This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn't come home. This is not Veterans Day, it's not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom." –Tamra Bolton
"As we set today aside to honor and thank our veterans, let us be mindful that we should do this every day of the year and not just one." –Beth Pennington
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God such men lived." –George S. Patton
"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me." –Lee Greenwood
"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes." –Maya Angelou
"We don't know them all, but we owe them all." –Unknown
“We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.” –George Orwell
“The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” –Jeff Miller
“What I can do for my country, I am willing to do.” –Christopher Gadsden
“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.” –James Allen
"Think about the past and consider the sacrifices men and women in the military have made for us." –Gary G. Wetzel

03 of 05

Short Memorial Day Sayings

"Home of the free, because of the brave." –Unknown

"America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels." –Claudia Pemberton
"Home of the free, because of the brave." –Unknown
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." –Nathan Hale
"Where liberty dwells, there is my country." –Benjamin Franklin
"Memorial Day: celebrate, honor, remember." –Unknown
"The patriot's blood is the seed of freedom's tree." –Thomas Campbell
"Here men endured that a nation might live." –Herbert Hoover
"In the aftermath, we are because they were." –RJ Heller
“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.” –John Adams
"May we never forget freedom isn't free." –Unknown
"There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country." –Nick Lampson
“May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn’t free.” –Sgt. Maj. Bill Paxton
"He who is brave is free." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca

04 of 05

Inspirational Memorial Day Quotes

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them." –John F. Kennedy

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them." –John F. Kennedy
"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility." –Eleanor Roosevelt
"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom." –Bob Dylan
"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." –Franklin D. Roosevelt
"On this day, take time to remember those who have fallen. But on every day after, do more; put the freedoms they died for to greater and nobler uses." –Richelle E. Goodrich
"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." –Martin Luther King Jr.
"Liberty is never unalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of patriots or it always vanishes. Of all the so-called natural human rights that have ever been invented, liberty is least likely to be cheap and is never free of cost." –Robert A. Heinlein
"Their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored." –Daniel Webster
"The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage." - Carrie Jones

05 of 05

Memorial Day Quotes About Heroes

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it." –Thucydides
"Heroism doesn't always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history." –Mary Roach
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” –Arthur Ashe
"It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle." –Norman Schwarzkopf
"Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.” –Calvin Coolidge
"When duty calls, that is when character counts." –William Safire
"The patriot's blood is the seed of freedom's tree." -Thomas Campbell

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Memorial Day start, and who created it?

The first Memorial Day was May 30, 1868, known as Decoration Day, to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War. Major General John A. Logan designated the day so flowers would be in bloom and could decorate the graves of those who died in the war.
Where is the birthplace of Memorial Day?

According to the town of Waterloo, New York's website, this is the birthplace of Memorial Day. Other towns contested the title, but Congress passed a resolution to officially recognize Memorial Day's birthplace as Waterloo, New York, in 1966.
How do people honor Memorial Day?

In observance of Memorial Day, some towns hold parades, and volunteers place flags or flowers on gravesites of military personnel. In December 2000, Congress passed the National Moment of Remembrance Act for Americans to pause at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day to recognize the service and sacrifice of those who died in military service.

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