This Memorial Day

It was just a few years following the fall of the Berlin Wall and the crumbling of the Soviet Union when I was invited to participate in a program hosted by the Fund for American Studies in Prague, the Czech Republic, that included about 10 of us from the United States and more than 50 students from the former Communist Bloc.

My newfound friends who had lived the majority of their lives under Communism shared stories of their childhood -- and how they longed to one day come to America. They told me of the nights they would stay up late and read and learn about the greatest country the world has ever known.

They shared with me how they had to keep their free market materials and the books on American history and the Founding Fathers hidden in secret panels in the walls of their homes so the secret police would not discover it. If any pro-America material was found by the state police when they came through to search their homes, there would be a significant price to pay.

Yet, in spite of this and with no formal education in the study of America or the free enterprise system, these students knew more about America and its founding and its true purpose in the world than we did! They knew because they had lived under tyranny and could only dream of the freedom that we too often take for granted.

My hope is that this Memorial Day weekend, as we dig out our beach chairs and dust off our grills, we will all remember just how truly special our freedoms are.

And, in doing so, my prayer is that we will take a moment to remember the men and women in our Armed Forces who have given their lives and sacrificed so much to preserve these unique American freedoms and traditions.

Our veterans have laid it all on the line for our country -- for our freedoms. And, to them, we are eternally grateful.

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