Memorial Day, observed the last Monday in May each year, recognizes and honors the men and women who died in service to their country.

The day traces its roots to the period after the Civil War when the head of an organization of Union veterans established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to mark the graves of the war dead with flowers. The day of May 30 was selected. Other cities around the country, both Union and Confederate, held similar observances.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. As time progressed, the day became a time to honor all those who lost their lives in America’s wars.

Memorial Day, also seen as the unofficial start of summer, was observed on May 30 for years until 1968 when Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The act moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May.

Memorial Day also includes a National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. local time.

Here are some of the best quotes, remembrances and inspiration for Memorial Day 2023:

“We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.” — Theodore Roosevelt

“Memorial Day isn’t just about honoring veterans, its honoring those who lost their lives. Veterans had the fortune of coming home. For us, that’s a reminder of when we come home we still have a responsibility to serve. It’s a continuation of service that honors our country and those who fell defending it.” – Pet Hegseth

“We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” – Winston S. Churchill

“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.” – John Adams

“To every family member of the fallen, I want you to know that the legacy of those you lost does not fade with time, but grows only more powerful. Their legacy does not, like a voice in the distance, become a faint echo. But, instead, their legacy grows deeper, spreading further, touching more lives, reaching down through time and out across many generations. Through their sacrifice, your loved ones have achieved something very, very special: immortality.” – – Donald Trump

“Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay.”- Barack Obama

“Honor to the Soldier, and Sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as best he can, the same cause—honor to him, less only than to him, who braves, for the common good, the storms of heaven and the storms of battle.” — Abraham Lincoln

“A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”- George William Curtis

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy

“The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.” – George S. Patton Jr.

“The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.”– Jeff Miller

“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outburts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” – Adlai Stevenson

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

“These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor – and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.” – Michael Castle

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.”- Joseph Campbell

“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”- Norman Schwarzkopf

“America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.” – Paul Tsongas

“The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.” — Thomas Campbell

“Heroes may not be braver than anyone else. They’re just braver 5 minutes longer.” – Ronald Reagan

“You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” — Aristotle

“My country owes me nothing. It gave me, as it gives every boy and girl, a chance. It gave me schooling, independence of action, opportunity for service and honor.” – Herbert Hoover