By Memorial Day often involves backyard barbecues, poolside gatherings and the realization that summer is right around the corner. But beyond the long weekend celebrations, it’s also a time to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. military. One powerful way to honor their memory is by sharing words that express gratitude, patriotism and remembrance.
Observed on the last Monday of May (due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968), Memorial Day is a solemn occasion rooted in honoring fallen service members. It’s a moment to pause and recognize the cost of our freedoms. To help you express that sentiment, Woman’s World has curated more than 30 meaningful Memorial Day quotes that pay tribute to those who served with courage and conviction. Keep scrolling to find the words that best reflect the spirit of the holiday.
See what they have to say about entertaining the troops, family members who served and more
Memorial Day quotes about the holiday and the United States
- “Land of the free because of the brave.” – Francis Scott Key
- “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis
- “All gave some, some gave all.” – Billy Ray Cyrus
- “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices” – Harry S. Truman
- “Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” – Douglas MacArthur
- “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”– John F. Kennedy
- “As America celebrates Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation’s wars.”– John M. McHugh
- “One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one Nation, evermore!”– Oliver Wendell Holmes
- “This is the day we pay homage to all those who didn’t come home. This is not Veterans Day, it’s not a celebration, it is a day of solemn contemplation over the cost of freedom.” – Tamra Bolton
- “Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” – Adlai Stevenson II
- “Our flag honors those who have sacrificed to protect it.”— Joe Barton
Memorial Day quotes honoring fallen soldiers and military members
- “The legacy of brave men and women who have fought and died for their country is the freedom we enjoy as Americans.” – Lucien Adams
- “The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” – Minot J. Savage
- “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” – Unknown
- “And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.” – Joseph Rodman Drake
- “I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism.” – Bob Riley
- “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.” – Barack Obama
- “We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.” – Francis A. Walker
- “May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn’t free.” – Sgt. Major Bill Paxton
- “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.” – John F. Kennedy
- “They fell, but o’er their glorious grave / Floats free the banner of the cause they died to save.”— Francis Marion Crawford
Here, a collection of verses to share with loved ones to bring hope and healing
Memorial Day quotes about military heroes
- “Without a sign, his sword the brave man draws, and asks no omen, but his country’s cause. ” – Homer
- “I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.” – Bob Dylan
- “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – G.K. Chesterton
- “Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Unable are the loved to die. For love is immortality.” – Emily Dickinson
- I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” – Nathan Hale
- “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!”– Maya Angelou
- ”A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell.
- “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.” – Benjamin Disraeli
- Heroes never die. They live on forever in the hearts and minds of those who would follow in their footsteps.” – Emily Potter
- “Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.” – Calvin Coolidge
- “Courage, above all things, is the first quality of a warrior.” – Carl von Clausewitz
Memorial Day quotes about freedom
- “And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free and I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right to me.” – Lee Greenwood
- “Freely we serve, because we freely love, as in our will to love or not; in this we stand or fall.” – John Milton
- “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”– Douglas MacArthur
- “The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage.” – Carrie Jones
- “May we think of freedom, not as the right to as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” – Peter Marshall
- “Better to die fighting for freedom than be a prisoner all the days of your life.” – Bob Marley
- “Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.” – Herbert Hoover
- “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” — Thomas Paine
