I am the Unknown Soldier. I have done what others did not want to do. I have gone where others feared to go. I have accomplished what others have failed to accomplish. I have lived times that others would say are best forgotten.
Although no one has heard my name I was there.
I was there on the Green of Lexington when the shot “heard around the world,” echoed through the forests of New England. I was there at Valley Forge, when the fate of our nation was in dire peril. I was there on the deck of Old Iron Sides, as she fired a salvo at a British man-o-war. I was there on the walls of McHenry, when the star spangled banner refused to be lowered.
Although no one has heard my name, I was there.
I was there at Shiloh, Bull Run and Appomattox, when a nation fought to remain united. I was there in the trenches of France, fighting there to protect those living here. I was there on the beaches of Normandy, to free a world from an evil, bent on supremacy and hatred. I was there on Pork Chop Hill, ensuring that a free nation might remain free. I was there in the Jungles of Asia, struggling against an unseen foe.
Although no one has heard my name, I was there.
I have served my country in times of peace and in times of war and how I long for the times of peace. The real and lasting victories are those of peace and not of war. Who more than I know this for a fact? For I have sacrificed my blood, that my nation may be at peace, that our children may grow old, that a mother’s tears may be dried. For you see, it is a soldier’s blood that waters the seeds of peace.
I have given much to my country but my most important gift to you is country’s freedoms. For you see, it is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us Freedom of the press. It is the marine, not the poet, who has given us Freedom of speech. It is the sailor, not the campus organizer, who has given us the Freedom to demonstrate. It is the Airman, who serves beneath the Flag, who salutes the Flag, whose coffin is draped by the Flag and whose heart breaks as the protester burns the Flag. It is the soldier, not the politician, who has given his blood, his body, his life. It is the soldier who has given you your FREEDOMS.

A great Commander-in-Chief once said……..
“Let every nation know,
whether it wishes us well or ill,
that we shall pay any price,
bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe,
to assure the survival and success of liberty.”

Throughout the history of our nation, I have paid the price. I have carried the burden. I have met with hardships. I have seen duty, honor and sacrifice. As I lay in this tomb, unknown, but to God, I do not ask for endless praise, for monuments erected to my honor, for edicts and proclamations. I don’t even ask for the respect that is due me.
I do however, ask for one thing. That which I ask for is this: I ask that you cherish and safeguard your freedoms. Safeguard the freedoms I have given to you, the freedoms I have bled for, the freedoms I have given my life, so that you could enjoy. Let me know that my sacrifice was not in vain, that you safeguard the peace I fought for.
Just one last thing, ask your children and your children’s children to remember me whenever they hear Taps played over a soldiers grave.

“May God Bless You and May You Always Live In Peace.”