Dear Home Base Nation,

This Memorial Day, I ask each of you to take a moment to honor and remember our Fallen Heroes and their Families for their selfless service and sacrifice to our Nation.

For 250 years, Americans from every corner of our country have answered the call to defend our freedom. They have borne the weight of that responsibility with courage and resolve — earning and protecting the liberties we hold dear today. Memorial Day is our sacred obligation to remember them, to honor their lives and to ensure their sacrifices are never forgotten.

Today, we are once again a Nation at war. U.S. Service Members have come under attack from ballistic missiles and drones. Fourteen have been killed in action and more than 300 have been seriously wounded. These men and women will soon return home — many carrying the invisible wounds of war — and they may need the care and support that Home Base stands ready to provide.

For those in and around Boston this weekend, I strongly encourage you to visit the Home Base Memorial Day Flag Garden at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Boston Common. More than 37,000 flags — each one representing a Massachusetts Service Member who gave their life since the Revolutionary War — stand as a powerful and humbling tribute. It is a place of reflection, remembrance and enduring commitment to the Families of the Fallen.

This remarkable tribute is made possible by the Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund and by the dedication of our volunteers and the generosity of our donors. To each of you who helped bring this memorial to life, thank you. You are ensuring that these heroes are never forgotten.

As we look ahead to the summer, we are proud to return to historic Fenway Park on July 25th for the 17th annual Run to Home Base — our most important fundraiser of the year. We look forward to sharing more details soon and hope you will join us in supporting this critical mission.

Since 2009, Home Base has served more than 50,000 Veterans, Service Members, Military Families and Families of the Fallen. We remain steadfast in our commitment to provide world-class clinical care and compassionate support to those who have borne the battle.

If you or someone you know could benefit from care — especially during this time of reflection — we encourage you to connect with us at homebase.org/getcare.

On this Memorial Day, may we honor the fallen not only with our words, but with our actions — by continuing to serve those who carry their legacy forward.

Sincerely,

Jack Hammond

Retired Brigadier General, U.S. Army | Executive Director, Home Base