On Memorial Day, remember our fallen

You may have noticed the field of flags recently placed on a section of the Prairie Line Trail that passes through our campus. Our Veterans & Military Resource Center (VMRC) brings together members of our military community to plant these small flags as a tribute to the meaning of Memorial Day. The display has become an annual tradition.

Memorial Day is a time when we honor the military men and women who lost their lives in service to our country. As a national holiday, it has also become associated with gatherings of family and friends, marking an unofficial start to summer. But the deeper meaning of the honoring of sacrifice is the true touchpoint of the day.

We at UW Tacoma are fortunate to have as part of our community a vibrant and diverse military-affiliated community. Among our students, staff, faculty and alumni are those in active duty, veterans, spouses and children of military personnel. That community includes those that are called Gold Star families — the surviving family members of military personnel who died in an active duty status.

The VMRC held a number of events to mark Memorial Day during the past week. In addition to the flag planting, these included a Remembrance Ceremony and the Memorial Day Mile at the University Y. On Memorial Day itself, the Tacoma Historical Society will host the 17th annual Memorial Day Observance on May 27 at 11 a.m., at War Memorial Park. The keynote speaker will be Jane Hughes, the Gold Star mother of U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Danielle Crone.

As we think about the meaning of Memorial Day, let us remember that we owe a debt of gratitude, which we can never fully repay, to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We owe that same debt to their loved ones and family members. It is by continually striving toward our vision of a thriving and equitable society that we may best honor that sacrifice.