Freedom & Its Price Tag

Memorial Day Speech: Eugene L. Cilley

Freedom! Some have it and some dont. Those who do not have it, if they want it bad enough
will fight for it, and those who have it will help them in that fight.
In the 16 and 1700s people began emigrating from England to North America. They came
seeking freedom. That freedom was denied them by the British Crown and the Colonists
decided to fight for it.
On April 19, 1775 a new nation was conceived when a group of armed farmers took a stand at a
bridge in Concord.
Six years later that new nation was born when the British Army surrendered at Yorktown.
The cost: 7,200 Colonists killed; 8,200 wounded; 18,500 dead from disease or while imprisoned
by the British.
Freedom does not come for free.
Our forefathers then forged a constitution whereby that new nation would be governed for the
people by the people. To it was added the Bill of Rights guaranteeing the freedoms set out in
that document.
The Civil War was fought to gain freedom for some 3 million people who were being held in
bondage and to reunite a divided nation.
The Civil War took more American lives than any other war in history.
The cost: From the North 264,270 killed; From the South 233,020 killed. 497,290 men made
the supreme sacrifice. Many more were wounded or died in prison.
The South fought for freedom to keep their way of life. The North fought to give freedom to all.
WWI: the Great War; the war to end all wars; the war to make the world safe for Democracy.
The United States entered that war to stop the aggression by a nation whose goal was to
dominate all of Europe and to free the people being oppressed by that nation.
The cost: 116,516 Americans killed; 234,428 wounded.
The price of defending freedom for others.
WWII: Again we sent the cream of our American youth to preserve the freedom of people
oppressed and enslaved.
More than 15 million American men and 338,000 American women served in that war.
The cost: 405,399 killed; 672,278 wounded.
Korea, the forgotten war.
Under the auspices of the United Nations, American troops were sent to Korea to restore and
preserve the freedom of South Korea.
The politicians sent those troops to do a job and then welded their tool box shut. Those troops
were committed to a war they were not allowed to win.
The cost: 154,246 Americans killed; 103,284 wounded; 5,178 M.I.A.
To Vietnam the United States committed more than million men and women to another war
they were not allowed to win. A war to preserve freedom for South Vietnam and to prevent the
spread of Communism.
Again, the politicians welded the toolbox shut by defining where our forces could operate. They
gave the enemy sanctuary above the 38
th
parallel and forbade that it be violated.
American troops were eventually withdrawn from that war but they didnt lose. They were sold
out by their Country.
The cost: 58,000 dead; 365,000 wounded. M.I.A.s are still being sought.
Today American troops are stationed around the world, fostering peace and protecting freedom.
We owe them respect and support.
In our country today we have a generation of aging and needy veterans. As a nation we are
obligated to care for those veterans, to promote proper medical facilities and domicile for those
who need it. We owe them.
As we here today have gathered to pay tribute to our veterans and honor our dead, let us reflect
on the fact that more than 1,024,131 men have made the supreme sacrifice to gain and defend
our freedom.
I have a suggestion. Each and every one of you out there, bow your head, take a deep breath
and to all the men and women who gave that you might be free utter a sincere and heartfelt
THANK YOU!