West Virginia officials remind residents to put Memorial Day focus on those who served

West Virginia is home to more than 135,000 men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces, with more than 99,000 who served during wartime, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

West Virginia officials marked the Memorial Day holiday with messages calling on Mountain State residents to both cherish those veterans still with us while also remembering the service of those who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“On Memorial Day, we come together to display our deep gratitude for our nation’s veterans and honor the memory of those who lost their lives in service to our country to keep our families safe and our nation free,” said U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. “I’m incredibly proud that so many veterans call the Mountain State home, and as a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I am fiercely committed to ensuring West Virginia’s service members and their families receive the health care, education and other benefits that they have earned and deserve.”

The holiday should be a somber day “all across the country,” said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

“In this day and age, we take so much for granted in this country,” she said.

“I think Memorial Day is a good reminder of the sacrifices that many families have made and are still making. Whether they are long-ago passed away or just recently passed away — our friends, our neighbors, our sons, our daughters. These are very solemn times, and I think that’s what Memorial Day should mean to West Virginians and to Americans.”

“A lot of us associate Memorial Day to the fact that we’re going to be with family, picnics, maybe the opening day of how we feel like summer is on the way,” said Gov. Jim Justice on Friday. “With all that being said, maybe we just overlook what we should really be doing on this day and celebrating those who gave us and provided everything we have and continue to do so.”

Mike Pushkin, chair the West Virginia Democratic Party, emphasized the “profound importance” of the holiday.

“While Memorial Day is specifically set aside to remember those who have given their last full measure of devotion,” he said, “it’s also a good time to express our gratitude to all those who, by putting on the uniform, wrote a blank check to include giving everything, including their lives, that our country might be free.