GEN. Scaparrotti’s remarks as delivered:  On May 28^th, 1952, 19 year old Marine Corporal David Champagne was serving as a fire team leader in the 1^st Marine Division.  On that day, he led an assault with his Platoon against Communist controlled Hill 104, a heavily defended position that you can see today just to the northeast of the JSA – if you are standing at the JSA and you look up to your left-front, that precipice is Hill 104. Cpl. Champagne and his fire team moved through a hail of enemy grenades and intense machine gun and small-arms fire.  He overran trenches and a series of nearly impenetrable bunker positions before reaching the crest of the hill and placing his men in defensive positions. Suffering a leg wound while repelling the ensuing hostile counterattack, he refused to evacuate and continued to lead his fire team. 

As the enemy counterattack increased in intensity, an enemy grenade landed in the midst of the fire team. Cpl. Champagne, without hesitation, hurled it back in the direction of the approaching enemy. As the grenade left his hand, it exploded, severely injuring his hand and throwing him out of the trench.  While in this exposed position, Cpl. Champagne received fatal injuries from enemy mortar fire.  His valiant leadership, fortitude, and self-sacrifice undoubtedly saved the lives of several of his fellow Marines. For his actions, Cpl. Champagne posthumously received the Medal of Honor. 

Cpl. Champagne, like all our fallen heroes, accepted death for love of his fellow Marines and his country.  And today, we remember all those who made their patriotism immortal by giving their last measure of devotion.

Ambassadors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen … good morning.  Thank you for joining me today on this very special occasion to commemorate Memorial Day and to pay tribute to the brave Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who sacrificed their lives in selfless service to their country. 

I want to thank the United Nations Command Honor Guard, Eighth Army Band, and the Second Infantry Division Salute Battery for your outstanding performance today – you look magnificent. To our ROK-US Friendship Organizations - thank you for taking the time to attend today’s ceremony.

A special thanks to our Veterans’ groups represented here today, especially Minister Park Chung Soon, Minister of Patriots and Veterans

Affairs of the Republic of Korea. No one knows the cost and personal sacrifice of defending freedom better than our Veterans. You are the living embodiment of that which our fallen brothers and sisters in arms gave for us. 

To the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts assisting in the ceremony today, I thank you for your support and for setting a positive example for your peers.  

In the United States, Memorial Day originated after the Civil War to commemorate the fallen that had preserved the Union and ensured liberty for all.  Originally called “Decoration Day,” it was first celebrated on May 30^th, 1868 as men and women gathered to honor their fallen veterans by decorating Union Soldiers’ graves and reciting prayers.  Commemorations remained localized until after World War One when our nation united in honoring all of those who had died in America’s wars.    In 1971, Congress officially declared the last Monday in May to be Memorial Day, making it a national holiday. 

Over the years, Americans have observed Memorial Day in a variety of traditions.  They show their deep gratitude by visiting cemeteries or memorials, placing flags or flowers on the graves of the fallen, flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff, raising the POW/MIA flag, playing TAPS; or by renewing a pledge to look after the families of the fallen who sent their loved ones off to war and will never see them again.  Americans also take the opportunity to celebrate our values of friendship, family, and freedom by gathering for BBQs, picnics, and parades.  Regardless of the activity, we never forget that Memorial Day is a moment of honor and remembrance.  We recall that only courage and sacrifice can keep freedom alive. 

  As an example, the Korean War was a true struggle between freedom and oppression, between liberty and tyranny.  It was here that forces from the Republic of Korea, the United States, and the United Nations proved that an aggressive invasion into a peaceful nation would not stand.  The free nations of the world stood shoulder-to-shoulder with one another and defied tyranny.  They chose to believe and answer the call of duty. 

By the end of the Korean War, tens of thousands of Service Members, just like Cpl. Champagne, performed their best in the worst of times - when their brothers and sisters needed them most, and were either killed or wounded.  They persevered through some of the most brutal conditions faced in war – suffocating heat, bone-chilling cold, drenching rains, and a persistent enemy.  But through all the hardship, our Service Members gave all they had to give.  We pay homage to over 36,000 U.S, nearly 138,000 Republic of Korea, and over 3,700 UN Service Members who gave their lives during the Korean conflict. 

For over 60 years, we have continued to deter North Korean aggression.  And today, our strong Alliance continues the legacy of our Korean War Veterans’ selfless service to make their sacrifices matter.

We also carry with us the memory and the legacy of fellow Service Members and friends we’ve lost in our wars – for most of our American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, our generation – this is Iraq and Afghanistan. 

In 2003, I was the Assistant Division Commander for 1^st Armored Division as we secured Baghdad, Iraq and its surrounding areas.  At the end of each day, we took an update as most commands do as the subordinate commanders would report to the Division Commander their operations and the outcomes of the day.  At the end of these communications, beginning on one of the first days of combat, we reported the names of those killed in action.  General Martin Dempsey, our current Chairman, was the Division Commander, and at the end of one of those first reports he said we had to “Make it Matter.”  We had to make the sacrifice of those Service Members matter, in our conduct in our operations we conducted during that time.

As I traveled about the battlefield in the days following that, I saw, stuck on a bulletin board in a field command operations center, the words, “Make it matter.”  And a troop had written it in marker across the dash in his vehicle.  It was a comment that resonated throughout the Division – “Make it matter.” 

As we moved through that year in combat, General Dempsey had a tradition that General Hertling, the other Assistant Division Commander, and I followed.  We kept a card with the picture and the information about each Service Member that we lost in our Task Force during that time.  I make it a point to share several of these cards each Memorial Day.

The first one, Sergeant Daniel Ladano, was a Squad leader in Delta Company, 1-505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR).  Both his parents and he came to the United States as their chosen country to seek a better life, neither of them were born here.  SGT Ladano, as told by his squad leaders when I went to his memorial in the field, said that he carried a small booklet in his cargo pocket and he would pull out that booklet when he had a break, and read to his squad mates.  The title of the booklet was, “Why America is great.”  And on 13 March 2004, he gave his life in Baghdad for his chosen country. 

Secondly, First Lieutenant Kenneth Ballard, killed in action on 30 May 2004, in Najaf, Iraq.  He was from Mountain View, California.  He left his parents behind and was a member of Charlie Company, 2-37 Armored Regiment.

The third is Lance Corporal Franklin M. Watson, a member of the Marine Corps who gave his life on 24 Sep 2011in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.  He left his parents behind and he comes from Vonore, Tennessee.

Finally, there is Hospitalman Riley Gallinger, a Sailor who was killed in action on 11 Aug 2011, also in Helmand Province.  He came from Forest Grove, Oregon and left behind parents and also his wife. 

I would add that we also recognize SSG Yoon, Jang Ho, a ROK Soldier who gave his life in 2007 in Afghanistan.  

So as you gather this weekend with family and friends in this beautiful country, take a moment to remember the life, the service, and the sacrifice of every Service Member who has given their all so that we can enjoy the blessings of our lives.   Commit yourself today to “Make it Matter” – to make sacrifices, like those of Cpl. Champagne and all the others and the four others I read today – matter.  Thank you for coming today.