Monday marks Memorial Day, when many members of Congress will honor not only their loved ones and their constituents but their own years in service.
In the 118th Congress, there were 99 veterans at the start of the term: 82 members in the House and 17 members in the Senate. The number of veterans elected in 2022 marked the fourth time in the last 50 years that the total number of elected veterans increased.
Since the start of 2023, three veterans have retired early from the House: Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Bill Johnson (R-OH), and Chris Stewart (R-UT).
The Washington Examiner reached out to over 30 lawmakers from the House and Senate who served in the armed forces before they arrived in Congress. As they go home for Memorial Day weekend, many will attend parties with constituents and neighbors, have a small gathering with friends and family, or spend time visiting the final resting place of loved ones who died in service to the United States.
Jimmy Panetta
What was your military service? (Branch, years, rank, etc)
“I’m proud to have served with the US Navy, Reserve Component, from 2003 – 2011 as an Intelligence Officer,” Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) said. “From 2007 to 2008, I volunteered for active duty and was deployed with a Special Operations task force to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.”
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“On Memorial Day, I join with our community throughout California’s 19th Congressional District in not only recognizing the men and women who sacrificed during their service, but all but all those who served in uniform and passed,” Panetta said.
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“Memorial Day allows us the opportunity to formally honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our democracy,” Panetta said. “Moreover, it provides our nation with an opportunity to remind ourselves of our responsibilities of living in the leading democracy of the free world. It is a day of reflection, but also a day of reinvigoration for the engagement that is necessary by Americans in order for our nation to not just endure, but also succeed.”
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“Last year, we returned the remains of Seaside California’s Aviation Radioman First Class Wilbur Archie Mitts, 79 years after he was killed in action over Palau,” Panetta said. “It took years of exhaustive searching, excavation, and testing but our country was finally able to return him home and lay him to rest in Mission Memorial Park.
“His story and the work it took to bring him home demonstrate the sacred bond between our country and all who serve it,” Panetta added.
Jack Bergman
What was your military service?
“I served in the United States Marine Corps from 1969-2009, eventually earning three stars as a Lieutenant General,” Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) said. “I like to jokingly say it was always an honor and occasionally a pleasure.”
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“Memorial Day is more than just a long weekend,” Bergman said. “It should be spent in reflection and prayer as we recognize that our freedom comes at a steep cost, with many giving their lives to pay for it. I spend Memorial Day dwelling on that — no matter where I am.”
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“To memorialize someone means to preserve their memory, so Memorial Day means that we as a Nation must take a moment to pause and honor every serviceman and woman who gave their last full measure of devotion so that we might be free,” Bergman said. “Their sacrifices will never be in vain if we cling to their memories and to the weighty exchange they made in laying their lives down for ours.”
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“I recently joined my colleagues to wash the wall of names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial — something we do every year for Memorial Day — and I always think of two of my friends: Corporal Barry Mott, United States Marine Corps; and Lieutenant Junior Grade Joel Sandberg, United States Navy. Both of them died while serving in Vietnam and both have their names — and their legacies — engraved on that wall. I honor their sacrifices in particular this Memorial Day,” Bergman said.
Mark Green
What was your military service?
“My 24-year career in the Army began with my enrollment at West Point in 1982,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) said. “After graduation, and the Army Ranger school, I served first as a LT in the 194th Separate Armor BDE, and as a CPT, I commanded in the 82nd Airborne, where I decided to go to medical school. I volunteered for a recruiting command to do the night classes needed. I was in my residency during 9/11, and then I joined the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in 2002 as a flight surgeon.
“It was with the 160th SOAR that I was honored to be a part of the mission to capture Saddam Hussein,” Green added. “I left the Army in 2006 as a Major promotable with a Bronze Star and Air Medal with V-Device among many other awards.”
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“I typically spend Memorial Day with my constituents in Tennessee, doing what I can to honor the memory of those who gave their lives for our country,” Green said. “In addition, my wife, Camie, often participates in the Murph Challenge in honor of Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Michael Murphy on Memorial Day. The challenge consists of running one mile, completing 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, and finally running another mile all while wearing a 20-pound vest or body armor.”
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“Memorial Day is meant to honor the brave men and women who gave the last full measure for their country,” Green said. “On this day, I focus on honoring those we’ve lost as well as our Gold Star families. I can’t think of this day without thinking about all of the flag-draped coffins I’ve seen and the children who have had to grow up without their moms or dads.
“When it comes down to it, this day is about sacrifice,” Green added.
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“I served with a Delta Force Sniper in Iraq who was already past his retirement date and waiting for his plane to arrive,” Green said. “His guys were leaving for a mission, and he refused to go home while they went back to the battlefield. This brave warrior lost his life on that mission and his memory will always stay with me.
“I also want to honor Master Sergeant James ‘Trey’ Ponder. I was his doctor,” Green said. “He was one of the Night Stalkers who lost his life on the Chinook helicopter that was hit during Operation Red Wings, better known as the operation that took place in ‘Lone Survivor.’
“On his Facebook page, a year after his death, I found a post from his daughter on his page that read, ‘I miss you and I love you daddy.’ Trey gave his life for our freedom, but that little girl gave her dad. We must never forget the families’ sacrifices either,” Green said.
Don Bacon
What was your military service?
Brigadier general in the Air Force for 29.5 years.
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“I usually give three speeches in the district, and we will have a parade this year, too,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) said.
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“We remember the 1.35 million patriots who paid the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our country,” Bacon said. “Freedom is not free. We are the land of the free, the land of opportunity, and a nation based on the rule of law because of the sacrifice by these Americans.”
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
Lt Col Mark Stratton, who was killed near Bagram by a suicide bomber.
“I flew Rc-135s with him previously and he was an outstanding man of character,” Bacon said.
Jason Crow
What was your military service?
“Started out working minimum wage jobs in high school and enlisted in the National Guard and worked construction to help pay my way through college. I joined the active duty Army after graduating,” Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), who enlisted in 1998, said. Then 9/11 happened and changed my path.
“I served in the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, leading a platoon of paratroopers during the invasion of Iraq,” Crow continued. “After returning, I joined the 75th Ranger Regiment to serve two more tours – this time in Afghanistan as part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force. I’ll never forget what it was like to march in those boots, and continue to be reminded that service doesn’t end when we take off the uniform.”
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“This weekend, I’ll be home in Colorado for remembrance ceremonies and some smaller gatherings – spending time thinking about my friends who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Crow said.
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“Our nation is built on the sacrifice of those who dedicated themselves to our higher ideals – freedom, democracy, prosperity,” Crow said. “It’s a solemn day and reminder that we owe our fallen heroes our earnest effort to meet the promise of what we can and should be.
“To me, that’s what this is all about,” Crow added. “So many of us serve not because we think this country is perfect but because we believe in what it can be. For those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, it’s our job to continue to push for those higher ideals.”
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“I’m holding sisters and brothers in my thoughts who fought with me in Afghanistan and Iraq and never made it back home,” Crow said. “There’s a lot of power in sacred places to reflect, remember, and heal. We have the World War II memorial in D.C. In Aurora, the Colorado Freedom Memorial – and soon due to my and fellow veterans’ efforts in Congress, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial.
“It’s a place that will go a long way to honor the courage and sacrifice of those who served in our nation’s longest war — we owe it to them every day beyond Memorial Day,” Crow continued.
Rick Scott
What was your military service?
“I was a radarman in the U.S. Navy and served on the USS Glover,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said. “I enlisted in 1971 at 18 years old because my adopted dad instilled the importance of service to me and my siblings. He was in the Army.
“My dad is a very important part of my life and a remarkable patriot — completing all four parachute jumps as part of the 82nd Airborne during World War II and fought during the Battle of Bulge … and came back to tell the story,” Scott said.
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“Throughout my life, and especially as Florida’s governor and U.S. senator, I have met so many families that have lost loved ones during their service to our nation,” Scott said. “Each one of these brave Americans is a hero that deserves our endless gratitude and respect.
“We can never repay the sacrifice that they have made, but on Memorial Day, I really pause to be thankful for the country we live in and the freedoms we all enjoy today, which wouldn’t be possible without the immense sacrifice of so many brave Americans,” Scott added.
Jared Golden
What was your military service?
Marine Corps, beginning in 2002, serving four years as an infantryman. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2004 and Iraq in 2005-2006.
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“I most often spend Memorial Day with my family, rather than at large gatherings or public events,” Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) said. “Those moments with family are precious every day. But on Memorial Day, they feel like a way to honor the people I served with who gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I think about the young servicemembers I knew who did not get the chance that I did to come home, get married, become parents,” Golden continued. “I spend time with their memories, knowing how lucky I have been to enjoy the blessing of family after returning home from war, while they were not. I believe this kind of somber remembrance and introspection is how Memorial Day should be observed.”
Anna Paulina Luna
What was your military service?
“I was proud to serve two enlistments as an E-4 Senior Airman in the Air Force between the years of 2009 and 2019, with a brief break in between the two enlistments,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) said.
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“This year I will be celebrating at this year’s Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremonies in Oldsmar as Pinellas County’s Congressional representative,” Luna said.
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“Memorial Day is a time for us to reflect, as well as honor those who have served before us that never made it home,” Luna said. “My husband and I both lost friends during the war in Afghanistan and as a result of that, this holiday is very solemn for us.”
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“I would like to honor Staff Sergeant Forrest Sibley, who was a Combat Controller in the U.S. Air Force. Forrest was killed in the Helmand province Afghanistan on August 26th, 2015,” Luna said.
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
What was your military service?
“On Memorial Day, we honor our servicemen and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) said. “I am a proud veteran, having enlisted in the Army at 18 years old and retiring after 24 years of active duty and reserve service at the rank of Lt. Colonel.”
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“Typically, I spend Memorial Day at a cemetery honoring the service of my father, maternal grandfather, uncle, brother, or military service members unknown to me,” Miller-Meeks said. “I may give speeches, walk in parades, or watch military movies on TV.”
Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“This Memorial Day, I am remembering my late brother Michael, who served in the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War,” Miller-Meeks said. “Like many service members returning from Vietnam, Michael was treated very badly during that turbulent time in American history. I miss him dearly.
“In Washington, I am fighting for our active military service members, veterans, and their families,” Miller-Meeks said. “Roughly 17 veterans every day lose their life to suicide. As a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs improving the quality of life and accessibility of care for veterans is a top priority.”
Gary Peters
What was your military service?
“I joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in 1993, where I earned a Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist designation and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander,” Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) said. “Following the September 11th terrorist attacks on our country, I volunteered again for drilling status and served overseas as part of my reserve duties.”
How do you spend Memorial Day?
“This year, I’ll be spending Memorial Day back home in Michigan, alongside friends and family,” Peters said. “One of my most remarkable and humbling Memorial Day experiences came a few years back, when I had the opportunity to join thousands of veterans to observe Memorial Day at the annual Rolling Thunder First Amendment Demonstration Run — a motorcycle ride that brings together over one million riders and spectators combined to honor servicemembers killed in action, those still missing in action, and prisoners of war.
“No matter where you’ll spend the weekend, it’s important that all Americans take the time to pay tribute to the generations of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who have served our nation with bravery,” Peters added.
What does Memorial Day mean to you?
“Memorial Day is a time for reflection, and an opportunity to honor the brave men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation,” Peters said. “Throughout our history, generations of brave servicemen and women have answered the call of duty to protect our freedoms, our democratic values, and the American way of life we all hold dear.
“We must always remember their service and continue to stand with the Gold Star Families who carry on the legacy of their fallen loved ones. It’s also imperative that we continue to honor and support those who served and returned home with wounds — whether they are visible or invisible.”
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Is there a fallen hero or loved one that you would like to remember on this day?
“When I reflect on service, always I think of my father who served our country overseas during World War II and became a public school teacher after returning home,” Peters said. “I have always been inspired by his service and his example. Today and every day, I am also grateful to all of those who have answered the call of duty, including the men and women I served alongside during my time in the U.S. Navy Reserve.”
