Memorial Day is more than the start of summer

Published 9:26 pm Saturday, May 26, 2012

To the editor:

Memorial Day is about more than summer road trips or the first day at the beach.

For years prior to my retirement, I served our country alongside my fellow federal workers at Norfolk Naval Shipyard as an electronics mechanic, as a nuclear power inspector and in central planning and at the Naval Supply System as a contracting officer’s technical representative.

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In addition to serving every American, one of the federal workforce’s greatest responsibilities is to support and equip our nation’s men and women in uniform. My civil servant colleagues and I felt a great responsibility to provide for our troops, and we mourned each time we learned of a fallen soldier.

So to me, Memorial Day is sacred. On behalf of America’s federal workers — half of whom work directly with our nation’s military — I salute our fallen heroes and thank the men and women who are currently serving around the world to defend the United States.

John R. Bright

Suffolk