A monument to fallen Madison soldier Rachael Hugo in Roselawn Memorial Park proudly displays the “Soldier’s Creed.”
“I stand ready to deploy,” it reads in part.
“I am guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
“I am an American soldier.”
Today we honor all of the soldiers from Wisconsin and across the nation who lost their lives while serving their country.

They stood tall. They guarded. They never quit — just as the creed requires. And they made the ultimate sacrifice.
For that, they deserve our deepest thanks.
Cpl. Hugo, 24, a combat medic with the Army Reserve, was killed Oct. 5, 2007, by a homemade bomb and small arms fire in Bayji, Iraq.

Other American soldiers lost their lives in Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, Africa, Europe, around the globe and here at home.

We can be thankful that fewer American troops have died since last Memorial Day. Wisconsin was spared of any military deaths in Iraq.

Yet a record number of Wisconsin National Guard soldiers have just begun a year-long tour there. And additional troops continue to serve courageously in tenuous Afghanistan.

Army 1st. Lt. Nick Dewhirst of Onalaska and Army Reserve Sgt. Daniel Thompson of Portage lost their lives in eastern Afghanistan during the last year.

Thompson, 24, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded Feb. 24 near the Humvee he was driving. Dewhirst, 25, was killed on July 20 when gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades rained down on his convoy.

All Americans should pray and root for our troops to succeed and be safe overseas.
And all Americans should honor and respect the memory of the men and women who didn’t come home alive.
Those who have fallen in defense of America and the freedom it represents stood and sacrificed for their nation. Keep them firmly in your heart and mind.