This ain’t just a weekend for Barbecue, Beach, Blue Angels and fireworks(though as my old Bomb Search and Recognition course instructor reasoned, “Why would anybody want to go someplace where people are playing with high velocity explosives?”) with an extra day off from work thrown in.

It’s a time to honor the men and women who have given their lives preserving the freedom that is the hallmark of our country’s way of life, soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, coast guardsmen and the largely unsung heroes of the Merchant Marine.

So don’t forget to say a prayer for those of our military personnel who are in harm’s way today, a prayer of thanks and an appeal for their safe return when their respective tours are up, and say a few words of gratitude to those who gave their lives for us, their country, in past theatres of war.