Gov. Cox reminds Utahns that Memorial Day carries ‘a responsibility that comes with being an American’

As Gov. Spencer Cox stood at a podium near the south steps of the Utah State Capitol on Monday, he referenced the blue sky and the blazing sun. He invoked burgers and hot dogs on grills. He talked about kids getting a day off of school, adults getting a day off of work, and families going shopping to take advantage of some incredible sales.

Memorial Day has become, to many, the unofficial start of summer.

“It’s a perfect day for a barbecue. It’s a great day to buy a mattress, apparently. I saw this morning that Men’s Wearhouse has their suits on sale. … And I think that’s what most Americans are doing today, are those things,” Cox said. “And I don’t think that’s why this holiday was made a holiday.”

As he was surrounded by American flags waving in the light breeze, and flanked by the Utah National Guard 23rd Army Band Brass Ensemble, Cox sought to drive home an important reminder.

Memorial Day was — and is — supposed to be about remembering and honoring military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

“Remembering does take work. Patriotism takes work,” Cox said. “There is a responsibility that comes with being an American. And I worry that far too many of us are forgetting the work of being an American.”

The Memorial Day commemoration event at the Capitol on Monday morning was an exercise in emphasizing that the holiday’s present iteration perhaps has become too much about Americana and not enough about America.

The stark juxtaposition was made with two of Utah’s U.S. Representatives, Blake Moore and Burgess Owens, sitting next to Maj. Gen. Michael J. Turley of the Utah National Guard. And With Cox and his wife Abby sitting next to Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (UDVMA) Executive Director Gary Harter.

A ceremonial wreath, a 21-gun salute, and a bugler playing “Taps” were among the tributes made to fallen soldiers during the morning event.

Moore spoke of one of his grandfathers, who served as a medic in the Army in the South Pacific, and who was severely injured when hit by shrapnel while clearing a road. He also recounted a story of his father, who had served in the National Guard, once lamenting that “none of my children had chosen an opportunity to serve in any type of way,” before subsequently being brought to tears when Blake Moore revealed that he was set to become a United States Foreign Service officer in the United States Department of State.

“I served in a unique way — I was a civilian in the intelligence service,” Moore said. “… There’s a sense of patriotism that we all have as Americans, but there’s an elevated element to that when you’ve had a chance to serve. And while I avoid any instance of stolen valor — I was a civilian — it still gave me a chance to interact with and train with our nation’s bravest.”

He proudly noted that his first bill in Congress will establish a Medal of Honor monument in Washington D.C.’s national mall area. And that his office is participating in the Veterans History Project, in which vets are interviewed and their words preserved in the Library of Congress.

He also somberly noted the heavy mental and emotional toll that military service can have on those who make it back.

“We have 17 military members — family, active duty or veteran — committing suicide every day,” Moore said. “What we can do as civilians is to know, to understand and to interact.”

Corey Pearson, deputy director of the UDVMA, noted that, as less than 1% of the U.S. population serves in the military, veterans can wind up feeling isolated. He encouraged veterans to do frequent “buddy checks” on other vets they know, and for friends and family of veterans to make it a point to be willing to listen and to help where needed.

Pearson also reminded vets of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Cox, meanwhile, addressed the importance of the Armed Forces by referencing a speech he has given to students at 29 high schools in the 29 counties throughout the state.

The real American exceptionalism, he argues to them, is that this is the greatest nation in the history of the world “because we were the first and only nation that was formed” on the “profound” and “radical” idea that all people everywhere are created equal and are “endowed from on high” with inalienable rights.

Such a radical belief, he continued, is also a dangerous one, because it is “a threat to evil all over the world.”

He referenced the war in Ukraine as an act of violence carried out by “Vladimir Putin, an evil dictator,” in an effort to gain and consolidate more power.

“What we believe is a threat to people like him, and it’s been a threat to every dictator in the history of the world,” Cox said. “And so we need brave men and women to protect that right, to protect that idea, to protect that sacred idea that we are endowed by our creator with unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

“Today we pay tribute to those men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect and promote that radical idea,” he concluded.