Loyalty, duty, respect, selfless-service, honor, integrity and personal courage.

Retired Maj. Randy Fritz, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, said those are the core values, the proud legacy that our Army — and our country — is grounded in. Fritz spoke during the Lehighton Memorial Day service held Monday in the Upper Park Amphitheater.

“Memorial Day is the time for Americans to reconnect with their history and core values by honoring those who gave their lives for the ideals we cherish,” Fritz said.

More than a million American service members died in the wars and conflicts this nation fought since the first colonial soldiers took up arms in 1775 to fight for independence.

“Each person who died during those conflicts was a loved one cherished by family and friends,” he said. “Each was a loss to the community and the nation.”

Fritz said that for decades, Memorial Day was a day when stores closed and communities gathered together for a day of parades and other celebrations with a patriotic theme. It meant ceremonies at cemeteries around the country, speeches honoring those who gave their lives, the laying of wreaths, and the playing of taps, he said.

Unfortunately, Fritz said, “Many Americans have lost this connection with their history. All too many Americans today view military service as an abstraction, as images seen on television and in movies.”

“For a growing percentage of the American people, Memorial Day has come to mean simply a three-day weekend or a major shopping day,” he said. “Families might still gather for picnics, but for many of them, the patriotic core — the spirit of remembrance — is absent.”

Fritz said we should never forget the price our soldiers paid so that we could carry on with our lives.

“We in this country owe a great debt of gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives so that we could live free,” he said. “We can start to pay that debt by not forgetting, by remembering what they did and what they stood for.”

Kevin “Spike” Long, commander of the Lehighton United Veterans Organization, said, “Today, and every day, may we never forget to honor our brave men and women who gave their last full measure.”

After the main service, those who were able formed up on North Third Street, and along with area Scout troops, Lehighton Area Middle School Never Forget Club, students, and select musicians, proceeded to the Lehighton Cemetery, where military honors were rendered before going to the American Legion Post 314 for the flag raising ceremony and conclusion of Memorial Day Services/honors.