60 Memorial Day Quotes Honoring Our Fallen Heroes (2021)
These Memorial Day quotes will help you remember those who gave all for America.
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering and honoring the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. armed forces.
The holiday is observed on the last Monday of May and is considered the unofficial start of the summer vacation season in the United States.
Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War. It was originally known as Decoration Day in reference to a tradition of decorating the graves of those who lost their lives in the Civil War and its set date was May 30.
It picked up the name Memorial Day in the years following World War 1 as people began to use it as a time to pay respect to all who died in all US wars.
Each year on Memorial Day, Americans take time from their busy schedules to honor the brave warriors who sacrificed their lives for our freedom and liberty.
You can observe this day by visiting memorials, participating in parades, holding family gatherings and visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
To help you honor and remember those who gave their lives in the line of duty, below is our collection of inspirational, patriotic and moving Memorial Day quotes and sayings, collected from a variety of sources over the years.
Memorial Day quotes honoring our fallen heroes
1. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.”- Jeff Miller
2. “Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.”- Barack Obama
3. “Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” –Adlai E. Stevenson II
4. “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
5. “Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory there would be no civilization, no future.” – Elie Wiesel
6. “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
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of Ronald Reagan quotes from the former United States President.
7. “Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don’t know how far we can go.” – Bernard Malamud
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of hero quotes that inspire everyone to make a difference.
8. “What I can do for my country, I am willing to do.” – Christopher Gadsden
9. “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
10. “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
Memorial Day quotes to remember sacrifice and authentic heroism
11. “My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” – John F. Kennedy
12. “There’s intense national feeling in America that could be called patriotism.”- Michael Ignatieff
13. “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” – Charles de Gaulle
14. “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
15. “True patriotism isn’t cheap. It’s about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.” – Robert Reich
16. “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.” – Gen. Douglas MacArthur
17. “America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.” – Paul Tsongas
18. “America without her soldiers would be like God without His angels.” – Claudia Pemberton
19. “He loves his country best who strives to make it best.” – Robert G. Ingersoll
20. “This nation will remain the land of the free only as long as it is home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis
Memorial Day quotes to honor those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom and liberty
21. “Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” – James Bryce
22. “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.” – Benjamin Disraeli
23. “I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism.” – Bob Riley
24. “For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” – James A. Garfield
25. “May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own country!” – Sen. Daniel Webster
26. “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” – Nathan Hale
27. “We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.” – Theodore Roosevelt
28. “The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.” – Thomas Campbell
29. “Who kept the faith and fought the fight; the glory theirs, the duty ours.” – Wallace Bruce
30. “Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.” – John Dickinson
Memorial Day quotes to remember those who gave all for America
31. “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
32. “There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country.” – Nick Lampson
33. “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain
34. “As America celebrates Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation’s wars.”- John M. McHugh
35. “Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” – Douglas Macarthur
36. “Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.” – John Adams
37. “And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.” – Joseph Rodman Drake
38. “Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” – Benjamin Franklin
39. “I believe our flag is more than just cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty, and freedom. It is the history of our nation, and it’s marked by the blood of those who died defending it.” – John Thune
40. “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of Joseph Campbell quotes to inspire long term thinking.
Memorial Day quotes to honor those service members who died for our freedom
41. “The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment.” – Judd Gregg
42. “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
43. “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick
44. “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
45. “The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” – Minot J. Savage
46. “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” – George S. Patton
47. “This will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave.” — Elmer Davis
48. “Liberty isn’t free, despite the fact that we ‘freely’ disregard that fact.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough
49. “Remembering our loved ones is breathing life into their fading images, that we might once more see their faces and pass along a tearful “I miss you.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
50. “I am thankful that there are those among us who have sacrificed dearly on behalf of us. And I ardently pray to God that I might be less like myself and more like them.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough
More Memorial Day quotes and sayings
51. “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
52. “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” – Billy Graham
53. “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” – Aristotle
54. “Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life.” – Bob Marley
55. “True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.” – Clarence Darrow
56. “The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one’s country deep enough to call her to a higher plain.” – George McGovern
57. “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” – Richard Grenier
58. “A hero is one who knows how to hang on one minute longer.” – Novalis
59. “In peace there’s nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility.” – William Shakespeare
60. “Don’t forget who your heroes are, what they mean to you, and why they mean that to you.” – Gale Harold
Memorial Day quotes to remind us of great sacrifice
61. “Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history.” – Mary Roach
62. “And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice.” –Ronald Reagan
63. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes.” – Maya Angelou
64. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill
65. “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
66. “Let their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.” – Daniel Webster
67. “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
68. “We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.” – Francis A. Walker
69. “In the aftermath, we are because they were.” – RJ Heller
70. “On thy grave, the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation!” – Thomas William Parsons
Did you enjoy these Memorial Day quotes?
Memorial Day is designated to honor those service members who died for our freedom. They gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
The willingness of America’s warriors to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude. It’s upon us to take a few moments to honor and remember them. Hopefully, the quotes above have helped you remember the reason this solemn day.
Which of these Memorial Day quotes was your favorite? Do you have any other patriotic quotes to add to the list? Tell us in the comment section below. Also, don’t forget to share with your friends and followers.
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