Monday is Memorial Day, by tradition the unofficial start of summer. No doubt many families are preparing getaways to celebrate.

And Memorial Day is a time to celebrate, not to celebrate the start of summer, but to celebrate the lives of many brave men and women who gave everything they could to make America safe and strong.

I say celebrate for a reason. Too often when observing Memorial Day, people only mourn the deaths of people who fought and served. Mourning is appropriate, but it should be accompanied by a celebration of the lives of those soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen. We should celebrate that there are so many people with the kind of character it takes to face those dangers.

The people we mourn on Memorial Day aren’t nameless uniforms. They are sons, brothers, fathers, and, increasingly, daughters, sisters, and mothers, who shined a light in the lives of the people who knew them. So this Memorial Day, by all means mourn their deaths, but also celebrate their lives.

— ADAM STEWART