To the editor:

Once again we celebrate the birth of our nation with family, friends and neighbors. The Fourth of July is for picnics and fireworks. The Fourth is also a day for remembering the price paid for the freedoms we now enjoy.

Take a minute to consider the courage and dedication to a cause displayed by those farmers, shopkeepers and merchants who were there at the founding of our nation. Half-trained militia stood shoulder-to-shoulder, facing the best professional soldiers of the era at a distance of 150 feet. Each knew that balls of lead more than a half-inch in diameter were soon going to be sent speeding in their direction.

Eight years of war would give these citizen-soldiers more than their share of training. Gen. George Washington would eventually field soldiers every bit as professional as their British counterparts, but they, too, came from farmers, shopkeepers and merchants. These men and boys chose to take a stand for personal freedom and to defend their fellow citizens.

So as you grill those burgers, drink those sodas and enjoy the fruits of freedom, take a minute to remember the price paid for your freedom. I also remind my fellow citizens to remember this: “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.”

I wish you and yours a happy and safe Independence Day.

Chris Dove

Suffolk