Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a former U.S. Army captain, said in an interview with Hill.TV on Friday that Memorial Day is the “most sacred holiday.”
The Arkansas Republican called the federal holiday “an occasion we set aside to honor those who have fallen in combat.”
“I would just ask everyone to remember them, if they know any Gold Star families, parents who have lost a child, a widow or a widower who lost a husband or a spouse, maybe kids who don’t have a mom or dad, to try to take time for them,” he said. “Say a prayer for them, if they know them in their community give them a call, maybe go see them after Church on Sunday, maybe go visit them on Monday to remind them that we’re not forgetting their service.”
He added that “often times the rest of the world moves on as it must, but if you’re one of those families that lost a son, or a daughter, or a husband or a wife, mom or a dad, you never move on from that.”
Cotton is author of the new book “Sacred Duty,” which provides a behind-the-scenes look at Arlington National Cemetery and a history of the Old Guard unit charged with protecting fallen U.S. service members.
He told Hill.TV that one of his first assignments as an officer in the Old Guard was participating in a dignified transfer of remains for service members killed overseas during a 2007 mission.
“That’s the kind of image you don’t forget,” he said.
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