100 Memorial Day Quotes for Speeches, Social Posts, and Remembrance Ceremonies

Memorial Day is more than the gateway to summer—it is a day of solemn gratitude for the men and women who gave their lives in defense of the United States. Words alone can never equal such sacrifice, yet a well-chosen quote can offer comfort, kindle patriotism, and inspire reflection. Whether you are preparing a speech for a local ceremony, writing a heartfelt social-media post, or sharing a moment of silence with family, the following one hundred quotes preserve the spirit of those who served and remind us why their legacy endures.

Presidents and Commanders-in-Chief

“That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.” — Abraham Lincoln

“The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated.” — George Washington

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” — Thomas Jefferson

“For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.” — James A. Garfield

“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” — Theodore Roosevelt

“A nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.” — Woodrow Wilson

“Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid.” — Harry S. Truman

“History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it remembers.” — John F. Kennedy

“The price of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it.” — Lyndon B. Johnson

“The true patriot is the man who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.” — Richard Nixon

“For all those who have died on foreign fields of battle so that freedom might live—America remembers.” — Gerald Ford

“Those who serve are not reflections of a broken world, but the promise of a better one.” — Jimmy Carter

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” — Ronald Reagan

“Each of the patriots whom we remember on this day lived a life of honor, a life we can all aspire to.” — George H. W. Bush

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” — Bill Clinton

“The brave have fallen, but the cause of freedom lives on.” — George W. Bush

“Our nation endures only because of those who dedicated their lives to its defense.” — Barack Obama

“They lived for us; that is why we must live fully for them.” — Joe Biden

Military Leaders & Service Members

“Duty, honor, country: those three hallowed words dictate what you ought to be.” — General Douglas MacArthur

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.” — General George S. Patton

“They fought together as brothers-in-arms; they died together and now they sleep side by side.” — Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

“The nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.” — General Colin Powell

“The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle.” — General James Mattis

“Freedom isn’t free—it never has been.” — Lieutenant Audie Murphy

“We done captured the whole blamed German army.” — Sergeant Alvin C. York

“Wars do not make men great, but they bring out the greatness in good men.” — Major Dick Winters

“The true heroes are the ones who never came home.” — Captain Florent Groberg

“We honor the heroes by living the values they died defending.” — Staff Sgt. David Bellavia

“Give me a chance and I won’t let you down.” — Master Sgt. Roy Benavidez

“If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.” — Admiral William H. McRaven

“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.” — Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing

“Courage, character, and culture are the enablers of freedom.” — Col. Charles McGee

“My duty is to protect my fellow Americans.” — Chief Petty Officer Chris Kyle

“They fought, and we honor them by carrying on.” — Sgt. First Class Paul Smith

“We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.” — Gen. Nathaniel Greene

“Show me a hero and I’ll show you a bum.” — Col. Gregory “Pappy” Boyington

“A fighting man lives to fight, but he also lives to protect.” — Commander Ernest E. Evans

“I have not yet begun to fight!” — Captain John Paul Jones

Veterans & Gold Star Families

“The soldier is the army. No army is better than its soldiers.” — Charles M. Province

“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” — Elmer Davis

“All gave some; some gave all.” — Howard William Osterkamp

“We don’t leave our brothers and sisters behind.” — Tammy Duckworth

“I went to Vietnam a young man, and came back much older.” — Max Cleland

“No man who has witnessed the horrors of war desires to see it repeated.” — Bob Dole

“We have shared the incommunicable experience of war.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

“We are Americans first, last, and always.” — John McCain

“Somebody had to do it—and those somebodies were heroes.” — Hershel “Woody” Williams

“Every day is Memorial Day for a veteran.” — Earl Morse

“Let the generations know that women in uniform also guaranteed their freedom.” — Mary Edwards Walker

“The real heroes are those who never came home.” — George Herring

“Gold Star families bear the weight of liberty.” — Debra Burlingame

“Veterans continue to serve long after the uniform is folded.” — Chris Marvin

“The scars remind us that survival is possible.” — J.R. Martinez

“For what is a nation but a people’s story of sacrifice?” — Senator Daniel Inouye

“Freedom is not free.” — Korean War Veterans Memorial inscription

“Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends.” — Lt. Michael P. Murphy

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” — William Arthur Ward

“Caring for those who served is one of the deepest expressions of patriotism.” — Elizabeth Dole

Poets, Authors & Journalists

“The real war will never get in the books.” — Walt Whitman

“If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep.” — John McCrae

“If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England.” — Rupert Brooke

“All a poet can do today is warn.” — Wilfred Owen

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” — Maya Angelou

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.” — Thomas Campbell

“They, too, will be remembered in the fields they loved.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” — Mark Twain

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” — George Santayana

“The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is bearing arms for one’s country.” — Stephen Ambrose

“They were young and they died for a future they never saw.” — Ernie Pyle

“Great hearts made great wars settled easy.” — Herman Melville

“Freedom is the gift of brave men.” — James Russell Lowell

“Valor is a gift. Those having it never know for sure whether they have it.” — Carl Sandburg

“True heroism is remarkably sober.” — Arthur Ashe

“Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.” — Kahlil Gibran

“Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.” — Pat Conroy

“They dropped like flakes, they dropped like stars.” — Emily Dickinson

Patriotic Voices & Public Figures

“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“America is great because she is good.” — Alexis de Tocqueville

“Courage is contagious; when a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” — Billy Graham

“We are the fortunate heirs of their legacy.” — Colin Powell (civilian address)

“The essence of America—that which really unites us—is not ethnicity, or nationality, or religion. It is an idea.” — Condoleezza Rice

“Those we honor today remind us what we can be tomorrow.” — Brian Williams

“They answered the call to save the world.” — Tom Brokaw

“While we can never do enough for our veterans, we can always do a little more.” — Gary Sinise

“A picture can capture triumph, but memory captures sacrifice.” — Joe Rosenthal

“Gratitude is the secret to happiness and freedom.” — Oprah Winfrey

“All your life, you will be faced with choice. You can choose love or hate—I choose love.” — Johnny Cash

“I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.” — Lee Greenwood

“Only in America, dreaming in red, white, and blue.” — Brooks & Dunn

“You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.” — Aaron Tippin

“America is not just a country; it’s an idea.” — Bono

“We owe them a debt we can never fully repay.” — Ronald Reagan (radio address)

“Space exploration is the spearhead of discovery, but freedom is the soul of progress.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” — Jackie Robinson

“Freedom’s most precious stone is valor.” — Audie Murphy (public speech)

How to Use These Quotes

• Speeches & Ceremonies – Open or close a Memorial Day address with a resonant line from a president or general to set a respectful tone.
• Social Media Posts – Pair a quote with a photograph of a local memorial or an American flag to spread awareness online.
• Remembrance Tables – Print a selection on place cards for a family barbecue or community luncheon to spark conversation.
• Classroom Discussions – Ask students to choose one quote and explain what it teaches about sacrifice and citizenship.
• Personal Reflection – Write a favorite quote in a journal, then take a moment of silence at 3 p.m. for the National Moment of Remembrance.

From the battlefields of Gettysburg to the windswept hills of Afghanistan, American service members gave their last breath so others could live in freedom. As you read and share these words, let them kindle gratitude, invite reflection, and renew a commitment to the ideals for which our fallen heroes fought. This Memorial Day—and every day—may we pause, remember, and honor their sacrifice with hearts full of pride and enduring respect.