High up on a cliff overlooking the yellow-brown beach, there is a large, clean cut, area of grass. Among the green grass are grey gravestones all symmetrically and in delicate rows . A weathered, woman lays,  a bouquet of flowers by a grave as sorrow splays on her face. Her husband gave his life for our country and was buried on this cliff along with thousands of other soldiers, now represented and remembered by a gravestones with their names delicately carved into them as an American flag waves from the occasional gust of wind, high up above them.

This last summer, I took a vacation down to San Diego, California and visited Cabrillo National Monument. The monument has an American Naval Gravesite and my father and I drove through it.Those graves will forever be burned in my memory like a scar that never fades.The graves were  surrounding me as if they wanted to be seen as who they were. Men and woman who  died in combat fighting for our freedom, or old veterans who fought protecting us from harm and survived until it was their time to rest. They fought through  bullets blazing,bombs bombarding, and bloodshed all for us knowing that death is possible which is the heart wrenching reality of war.Without  the men and woman buried in this graveyard,the evil in the world that seeks to take our freedom, and awaits at our doorstep, would succeed.

Men and Women such as the ones in this grave, are what memorial day is about. Honoring those who served and are now deceased, or still living. As a citizen of the United States I am fortunate enough to live in the greatest country in the world. Unfortunately it often comes with a cost as the price of freedom isn't always free. Memorial day will always be one of the most important holidays for me so I salute the fallen and living for their service and sacrifice every year on this day and for fighting for me to live free, in the Sweet Land of Liberty