I was in an accident involving multiple cars – who’s responsible?

Your doctor’s reputation can hurt you in court

New Insurance Law Hurts Florida’s Drivers

Memorial Day Remarks by Wade Coye

On May 29, 2011, Mr. Coye was given the honor to be the guest speaker for the 13th Annual Memorial Day Service at Cpl. Larry E. Smedley National Vietnam War Museum in Orlando, Florida at 3:30 p.m.

Mr. Coye is a veteran himself, having served in the U.S. Army Infantry, and he now serves as an attorney, fighting for Florida veteran’s rights since 1989 at the Orlando-based Coye Law Firm.

On the beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon, Mr. Coye gave the following speech:

Memorial Day Remarks by Wade Coye at Cpl. Larry E. Smedley National Vietnam War Museum

“Thank you for the opportunity to be here. Members of the Armed Forces, families of fallen soldiers, volunteers here at the Cpl Larry E Smedley National Vietnam War Museum, Congressman Adams, Commissioner Stewart, Chaplain; Thank you.

Our country owes a great debt to the fallen that have made our country free. Their blood and sacrifice have shown all of us the great cost that has been paid over and over again. In thinking about speaking to you today, I was reminded of how Memorial Day impacts each of us young and old in a different way as we seek to honor those who have lost their lives.

To children, untouched by war, for instance; I know for myself it meant that as a cub scout you would put on your uniform and march in the Memorial Day parade to the cemetery, and listen to adults speak, hoping someone would fire the canon.

When older, you knew if you were in the high school band that you would march in the parade, play specific songs at the cemetery and be able to attend the annual barbeque at the American Legion Hall. Even better, for me it meant that I would get temporary reprieve from doing chores around my parents’ farm, since it was a school activity to march with the high school band.

But for the adults who attend a Memorial Day service in a cemetery and other places of remembrance, it is more than a day off from work or school. It is to mourn the loss of loved ones, comrades, family, and friends; who since the time of the formation of our republic have given all that they could give – their lives – in defense of the freedoms that we enjoy. And in that, we must always be vigilant to make sure that everyone knows the importance of this day and that it is not just to mourn the dead and remember their sacrifice, but to honor the living.

Wars and conflicts that our nation has involved itself in are not something that everyone agrees to participate in at the outset, and in some, even after the conclusion there is disagreement in our society about whether and how a war is conducted. However, the one essential truth is that all who have served and have given their lives are honored. Because those who answer the call of duty to serve their country in times of war are called upon to do unimaginable things, that lead to the untimely death for many when they have just begun their lives. Perhaps that is why the loss of life in war is so great because those who have made the ultimate sacrifice are inordinately the young men and women whose promise in our society is just beginning. Memorial Day is a day to remember that cost.

We should always make sure that if we choose to commit the armed forces of the United States, that we truly understand the human cost and sacrifice that will occur. The cost of freedom has been borne in our country from the days of the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and continues around the globe in the war on terror. Many have lost their lives, and many more will do so, so long as tyranny and despots rule and seek to subjugate the lives of their citizens. Moreover, so long as we are dependent on foreign sources of oil, the Unites States will continue to lose young men and women who serve our country to maintain our vital strategic interests in the Middle East. Memorial Day is a day to remember that freedom is costly.

The death of our young men and women is a terrible cost indeed, but it is a sacrifice that as a nation we have decided time and time again that we are willing to make. The death of each in defense of our country represents in many ways the rebirth of our freedom. And our freedom will endure and not perish from this earth so long as we are willing to fight and to die for our beliefs. The memory of this day of fallen heroes who sacrificed all by their blood reminds us Memorial Day is a day to remember that cost.

Memorial Day is a day to remember the sacrifices of those who served, including those wounded in battle and who will never fully recover; suffering unimaginable trauma, horrible burns – so terrible that some don’t want to be seen in public – those who have lost arms, legs, fingers, limbs, eye sight, head injuries and the like; those who have returned and don’t have a job and because of their war-time experiences found it difficult to obtain a job, much less keep it. No, they have not died, they have returned, but they will have the wounds of battle for the rest of their lives and we must never forget them. Let me tell you, there is nothing more disheartening than to meet with a veteran who served his country honorably - who can’t find a job or is struggling with other issues - and then hear political leaders talk about lazy people drawing unemployment and government benefits. Unemployment among veterans 18 to 24 is over 25%. Perhaps it is time to demand politicians demonstrate through their votes rather than talk of their commitment to troops coming home. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and reckoning for those who would send young men and women to war, but forget them upon return. Memorial Day is a day to remember the cost of war.

But today is also the day to remember those who are left behind. The families, the friends, the comrades at arms who will forever remember those who perished at the age they made the sacrifice; those young men and women who, in many cases, only had begun their adult life. They will remain forever young and will not grow old with the rest of us. They will not be there for the many parts of life’s triumphs and defeats, they will endure in our memories forever. Memorial Day is also a day to remember the survivors who are left.

The families, friends, and comrades at arms who are left to mourn will carry the intimate memory of the little things in life that made that person who is lost special to them, because their sacrifice continues for the rest of the survivors’ lives. Sometimes the hard part in losing someone in war is not the immediate loss; it is not the horror of seeing them die, not the shock of seeing military officers arrive at your home to report that your son or daughter was killed in action, not the phone call advising someone is in the hospital and are expected to die from their wounds, not the funeral, the burial – it is the rest. It is when everyone has gone home – friends, family, and neighbors who have tried to be compassionate and helpful – yet, there remains the table with an empty place, pictures, memories. For the pain of the loss endures forever in dreams that will never come true, hopes never realized, ambitions never fulfilled. Memorial Day is a day to remember.

In thinking about this day and the meaning of it to so many, I was struck by how we honor and remember the lost lives, yet how the pain is truly endured by their family. For while it is true that the person who died made the ultimate sacrifice, it is their family, their friends, and the comrades at arms who make the payments on the price for our freedoms. Unquestionably, while those who are lost received a death sentence in war, their family received a life sentence, for which there is no eligibility of parole. It is a debt that will endure forever.

The sacrifices of families whose children are sent to war is a debt that society must undertake ever so carefully. For the American spirit is to hear the call of duty and are prepared to do what it takes. For some, the cost is great. Memorial Day is a day that we honor those who have fallen and those who are left behind.

I would like to read a letter written so long ago to someone whose sacrifice was, and remains, difficult for anyone to bear. A letter to Mrs. Lydia Bixby, written by the President, 1864:

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save.

I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Yours, sincerely and respectfully,
A Lincoln.

Memorial Day is a day that we must always remember.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen, may God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America."

Your Free Case Review