Today is Memorial Day, the day when we recognize all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy.

It is a three-day weekend to honor and mourn those U.S. military personnel who knew the risks, accepted the odds, and marched onward anyway.

Memorial Day also signals the unofficial start of summer. Along with the hot dogs, hamburgers, and swimming associated with our celebrations, let’s ponder these quotes.

Then pause for a moment of silence to remember their sacrifices and the families who live without them.

• “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.” — Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

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

• “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” — Unknown

• “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them.” — John F. Kennedy