By Dennis R. Pierce
BLET National President
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, May 28 — Each year, on Memorial Day, we pay tribute to the men and women who have given their lives serving in our military, and we honor them for defending our country and our way of life. As BLET members and many U.S. workers celebrate Memorial Day, I ask that we all take a moment to remember the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have given their lives for our freedoms. And as we remember those fallen heroes, we also offer our thanks and appreciation to the families and loved ones they left behind.
For more than 150 years, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has seen many of our union members go off to war and not come home. We are proud that our Brotherhood is the oldest labor union in the United States, and we honor the members we have lost since our founding on May 8, 1863. We are humbled by their sacrifice and wish those affected by their loss comfort and peace.
In 2000, Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance. Each year, at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, all Americans around the world are asked to pause and remember those who have died in military service to this nation. I ask all active and retired members of the BLET and the BLET Auxiliary to join me in this act of unity and pause for a moment of silence at 3:00 p.m. local time on Monday, May 31, 2021.
We are forever in debt to those who have died defending America. The brave men and women we remember on Memorial Day fought and died defending and spreading the freedom that we hold dear. Let us honor their sacrifice by doing all we can to preserve the principles they fought to protect.