If you're not interested in a post about U.S. Memorial Day, you can skip the rest.
Why bring this up? Because it seems like the Venn diagram of current/former military members and amateur radio operators in the United States has significant overlap - an estimated 15-30% based on various sources. So I'm going to take a moment and give you some food for thought.
Whatever you believe about the US involvement in foreign conflicts, service members are human beings who agreed to fight and potentially die for the U.S. Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The Constitution was our founders' best effort to codify the ideals that a government's role prioritizes justice, tranquility, defense, welfare, and liberty for all the people of the United States.
Obviously, service members who died in military operations are the people the general public thinks of first and foremost on Memorial Day. Their sacrifice is significant and should never be forgotten. I have a (sadly still growing) list of people I keep in my thoughts because they died from an enemy attack.
But there's another group who we must remember today and every Memorial Day. Their sacrifice is no less important, but is far less discussed. The weight of a service member's duty and responsibility has a permanent impact. Everyone who comes back from a combat deployment is forever different. Even someone who never deployed but spent years in service to their nation is forever changed when they leave the service. 6,398 U.S. veterans took their own lives in 2023. That's more than 17 a day. We're failing them.
If you're still reading this, and you know even one former or current service member, reach out to them, and ask them how they're doing. Don't say "thank you for your service". Thank them by being a decent human being. Thank them by showing them you care. Doing so many very well save a life.
I hope you're doing your favorite things today. I hope you're spending time with friends and family. I hope you make some excellent contacts on the air. All I ask is that you take a moment to remember the service members of the United States who no longer can.
72 - KY4LV