Veteran at UC shares Memorial Day message about sacrifice

Op-ed urges Americans to show gratitude through kindness, selflessness

What can Americans do to honor the sacrifice of U.S veterans?

In an op-ed this week in the Cincinnati Enquirer, U.S. Army veteran and University of Cincinnati Professor Jeffrey Blevins talked about how Memorial Day recognizes the men and women who died in service to or were killed in defense of the United States.

Portrait of Jeffrey Blevins

Jeffrey Blevins. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC

Blevins noted that every new soldier acknowledges this potential sacrifice, which is spelled out in the Armed Forces Military Code of Conduct: “I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.“

On Memorial Day, Blevins said Americans should ask themselves, “Are we worth the sacrifice made by those whom we honor today? Are the lives we lead worth their sacrifice?“

More than 2,000 students at UC are U.S. veterans or the dependents of veterans.

Blevins teaches in UC's School of Public and International Affairs. He suggests everyone can demonstrate their gratitude through kindness and selflessness.

“Let us be kind and charitable people. Pursue growth and development both collectively and individually. Exercise faithful leadership and care for the overall well-being of our country. Let us be a people worthy of the gifts of freedom and liberty,“ he wrote.

Blevins shared the same message in a speech at American Legion Post 484's Memorial Day Service in Cincinnati.

Featured image at top: American flags cover University Commons. Photo/Michael Miller

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