In between gathering with family and friends this Memorial Day weekend, it is important to pause and remember what Memorial Day is all about – honoring our nation’s heroes.

Memorial Day arrives with parades, barbecues, car sales and a day off from work. But for those of us in uniform, the day carries a weight far deeper. As a newly commissioned Navy Reserve officer, I wear the same uniform that once clothed young men and women who never returned home — from Europe to the Pacific in World War II to the mountains of Vietnam to the Middle East.

From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation's capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground