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(melancholy orchestral music)

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- [Narrator] Placing
coins in the head stones

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of service members, is a
tradition originating during

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the Vietnam War as a way
for visitors to let deceased

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service member's family know
who had visited the grave.

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Pennies represent people who knew them.

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Nickles represent those were
in basic training with them.

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Dimes represent those who
were in the same platoon.

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And quarters represent
those who were close friends

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or with them when they died.

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- [Man] To me, Memorial Day is
about recognizing service men

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and women who've made
the ultimate sacrifice

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in order to preserve
our freedoms, all right.

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And it's important to
continue to recognize

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their sacrifices so
that their families know

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that their fights weren't in vain.

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I think it's also important
to maintain a tradition

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such as Memorial Day because though those

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men and women aren't with us anymore,

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through these traditions,

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we immortalize their memories
in our hearts and minds.

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(somber music)

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- Memorial Day has had a
significant impact on me

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because it's taking one
day out of the entire year

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to remember our brothers and sisters

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who have given their lives and given up

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the rest of their days for
us and for our freedom.

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I've been at units where we've lost people

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and are shot and it's not
just losing that worker

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or that qualification,
it's losing so much more.

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It's losing that brother, that sister,

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that person we used to
see every single day

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and we remember them by doing

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what they would want us to do
and still showing up to work

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and fighting the fight.

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It's important to reflect and remember

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because it's so easy to take

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all the little things for granted.

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It's like our freedom
is a birth given right

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and it's so easy to lose sight of everyone

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that's given their everything
to preserve that for us.

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- [Service woman] To
their families, thank you

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for being that support
system and understanding

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and being willing to
give up that loved one.

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And to Americans, I wanna say thank you

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for giving us something to fight for.

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- Memorial day to me
personally is special.

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I celebrate it every day of every year.

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When I put my uniform on in the morning

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and look at my name tapes
and I see US Marines,

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I think about all the service members,

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all the Marines that have sacrificed

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to allow me to wake up in the morning.

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When I look at my memorial bracelet

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that I haven't taken off in 10 years,

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I think about the names that are on it,

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and they inspire me to do
better every single day.

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When things are hard,
those names, the sacrifices

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and why they did it, gets
me through those challenges.

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The motorcycle that I ride,

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that has 25 brave souls painted on it,

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inspires me to just continue
to earn the freedoms

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that I have, in the life that I live.

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Memorial Day specifically be having,

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being that I celebrate it and
I observe it every single day.

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The reason having one special day

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to observe those sacrifices is important

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'cause it connects me
with every other American.

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So not all Americans have had the benefit

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and privilege and honor
of watching Marines fight

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and nor have they felt the pain

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of watching people sacrifice

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and get to pay the ultimate price.

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But Memorial Day connects us all.

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So we all enjoy those freedoms.

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It allows me to feel connected

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to the rest of the American people

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who may not be as familiar
with the sacrifices.

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That's the impact of Memorial Day to me.

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(somber music)