The Greatest Generation Reflects on Memorial Day Written by Reid Rosenthal on May 25, 2015 · Have a comment? APRIL 19, 1776- MAY 25, 2015…For all of you who left your souls on the field of battle–You men, women, fathers, sons, daughters, and sisters of 239 American years who heard as your last sounds the cry of war, and breathed your final breath so that we might be free…an arching stairway to the heaven of warriors colored with your blood, your courage, and our undying and eternal thanks.