Honor and Remember
Memorial Day 2026
Memorial Day is a federal holiday to remember U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
In the land of the free and the home of the brave, Memorial Day has come to mean barbecues, ball games, and a three-day weekend.
It hasn’t always been that way.
Three years after the bloody Civil War that ended slavery, General John A. Logan – a Murphysboro native – planned a day that would honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Logan selected May 30th.
Why this date? General Logan knew that by the end of May, flowers would be in full bloom in every state: Union AND Confederate.
Perfect for floral displays in cemeteries!
In addition, Logan – wounded in action and National Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic – believed the date ideal because it didn’t coincide with the anniversary of any battles in the nation’s first 90 years.
Logan issued General Order No. 11 in early 1868. His goal? To set aside a day for those who answered – in his words -“…the reveille of freedom to a race in chains.”
Logan’s patriotic holiday has been cherished for over 150 years. In 1971, Congress designated Memorial Day as part of the three-day weekend craze.
In 21st-century revisionist history books, John Logan has probably been forgotten.
Let’s not forget that Mayor Lori Lightfoot put Logan’s statue on the chopping block.
Following the riot around the Christopher Columbus statue in the Summer of Love 2020. Mayor Lightfoot launched a review of public monuments as part of “a racial healing and historical reckoning project.”
On the list of monuments to review was General John A. Logan’s statue.
Lightfoot wanted to cancel the man who fought and later memorialized thousands who gave their lives so that all men and women of all colors could be free.
It’s Lightfoot who is forgotten, her tenure marked by further degradation of Chicago’s finances and culture, and the flight of thousands from the city.
General Logan will long be remembered, and his Decoration Day will stand as a reminder to future Americans of those who died in the military while serving our nation.
Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller
United States Army
This Memorial Day weekend, I especially remember the sacrifice of SSG Robbie Miller, Medal of Honor Recipient and Wheaton native, who gave his life to save 7 American soldiers and 15 Afghan National Army soldiers. I knew Robbie and spoke with him before he entered the military.
Read His Medal of Honor Citation
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:
Staff Sergeant Robert J. Miller distinguished himself by extraordinary acts of heroism while serving as the Weapons Sergeant in Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 3312, Special Operations Task Force-33, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan during combat operations against an armed enemy in Konar Province, Afghanistan on January 25, 2008. While conducting a combat reconnaissance patrol through the Gowardesh Valley, Staff Sergeant Miller and his small element of U.S. and Afghan National Army soldiers engaged a force of 15 to 20 insurgents occupying prepared fighting positions. Staff Sergeant Miller initiated the assault by engaging the enemy positions with his vehicle’s turret-mounted Mark-19 40 millimeter automatic grenade launcher while simultaneously providing detailed descriptions of the enemy positions to his command, enabling effective, accurate close air support.
Following the engagement, Staff Sergeant Miller led a small squad forward to conduct a battle damage assessment. As the group neared the small, steep, narrow valley that the enemy had inhabited, a large, well-coordinated insurgent force initiated a near ambush, assaulting from elevated positions with ample cover. Exposed and with little available cover, the patrol was totally vulnerable to enemy rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapon fire. As point man, Staff Sergeant Miller was at the front of the patrol, cut off from supporting elements, and less than 20 meters from enemy forces. Nonetheless, with total disregard for his own safety, he called for his men to quickly move back to covered positions as he charged the enemy over exposed ground and under overwhelming enemy fire in order to provide protective fire for his team.
While maneuvering to engage the enemy, Staff Sergeant Miller was shot in his upper torso. Ignoring the wound, he continued to push the fight, moving to draw fire from over one hundred enemy fighters upon himself. He then again charged forward through an open area in order to allow his teammates to safely reach cover. After killing at least 10 insurgents, wounding dozens more, and repeatedly exposing himself to withering enemy fire while moving from position to position, Staff Sergeant Miller was mortally wounded by enemy fire. His extraordinary valor ultimately saved the lives of seven members of his own team and 15 Afghanistan National Army soldiers. Staff Sergeant Miller’s heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty, and at the cost of his own life, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.
Major Alex Klinner
From a writer at The History Files.
On the morning of March 12, 2026, Maj. John “Alex” Klinner climbed into a KC-135 refueling aircraft over Iraq, doing the quiet work that keeps other pilots alive in the sky.
He had done it countless times before
Refuel the fighters. Keep the mission moving.
Come home. But this time, he never did.
The aircraft crashed during operations supporting Operation Epic Fury, taking the lives of 6 American service members. Among them was a man who, to the world, wore the uniform of a U.S. Air Force major. But to 1 small house back in Alabama, he was something much bigger.
He was Dad. Alex was an Auburn University graduate, a mechanical engineer, and an airman who had already given 8 years of service to his country. Yet the role he loved most waited at home. A wife who called him her best friend.
A 2.5 year old child. And 7 month old twins who will now grow up only hearing stories about their father. Stories about how he jumped up to help anyone. How he could turn any moment into laughter. How he always put others before himself.
His widow wrote the words no family should ever have to write.
“Our world shattered.” The tragedy left a house full of silence where his voice once lived.
But his story did not end in that crash over Iraq. Because every mission he supported…
Every life his aircraft helped keep in the fight… Every memory his children will carry…
All of it still carries the name: Maj. Alex Klinner.
Alex was my first cousin’s son-in-law.