For 30 of my 40-plus years as a pastor, I have had the privilege of serving in two distinguished military communities: Anniston (former home of Fort McClellan) and Pensacola (home of Pensacola Naval Air Station). I continue to share life with those who currently serve or have valiantly served our country. Over the past three years I have enjoyed conversations with multiple military chaplains, officiated a wedding for a naval aviator, presided over the memorial service of a World War II veteran, shared a eulogy for a retired colonel, and listened to the career story of a former navy pilot, now in his eighties.

In each of the communities where I have served, an extraordinarily large number of residents have lost a son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister, friend or neighbor on the field of battle. During my tenure in Pensacola, I shared over one hundred eulogies at the Barrancas National Cemetery, where over 32,000 veterans and their family members are interred.

No one knows for sure the exact number of men and women who have lost their lives in service of our country, but most veteran’s service agencies agree the number is 1.2 million or higher.

For this reason, Memorial Day evokes in me more of a sense of somber observance than of celebration. On this one weekend of the year, in the words of Aaron Kilbourne, “The dead soldier’s silence sings our national anthem.”

Although the final Monday in May can often become a holiday marking the beginning of summer, we should be careful that the meaning of this day does not become lost in the busyness of our activities. Memorial Day is not just another day off from work but a day to remember those who have lost their lives in the military service of our country.

A nation that fails to remember the sacrifices of those who came before us will inevitably succumb to a convenient amnesia, a loss of corporate memory that eventually robs succeeding generations of appreciation for our national heritage. To fail to remember creates a contagious apathy that leads to a neglect of both our freedom and our citizenship. To fail to remember can produce a false sense of security and an inaccurate perception that we are exempt from future warfare. If for no other reason, we should remember in order to guard against what George Washington called “the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

Perhaps our virtual reality world is becoming too much of a fantasy world.  When we mute the self-serving and accusative political rhetoric, remembering our unabridged heritage can stir in us both a gut check and a reality check. The kind of remembering we need to do on Memorial Day is an uncomfortable but necessary discipline, a practice that forges vision from memory and distills wisdom from history.

As we observe Memorial Day, let us take time to remember the women and men who served with extraordinary courage to establish and preserve our freedom. We have over a million reasons to remember.  By remembering our history, may we be better prepared to engage the enemies of our day with the weapons of peace, not war.

(Barry Howard is the pastor of the Church at Wieuca in North Buckhead near Atlanta. Additionally, he serves as a leadership coach and columnist for the Center for Healthy Churches.)