It was first called Decoration Day, referring to the flowers and other adornments affixed to graves of those who gave their lives for our country. That can be seen surrounding ceremonies today at the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl, Schofield Barracks Post Cemetery, and the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery in Kaneohe. The importance of what is now known as Memorial Day should not be forgotten during family gatherings, trips to the beach or shopping at store sales.

The nature of today’s warfare insulates many Americans from the lasting pain, suffering and sacrifice occurring on battlefields around the world. Troops, and their family and friends, know all too well the hardships. But for most civilians, war is a distant presence: There are no war bonds being sold, no enlistment for Rosie-riveting, no mandatory draft that spray and spread the pain equally.

But in Hawaii, with our large military population and troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war hits home too often. The most recent instance, sadly, was a week ago, when four Schofield Barracks soldiers were killed by a homemade bomb in Afghanistan when their unit was attacked by insurgents in Kunar province.

"We will never forget the sacrifice of these gallant young Americans," wrote Lt. Col. Daniel Wilson, commander of the 2nd "Wolfhound" Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment on the unit’s Facebook page. "We will carry them forever in our hearts and we vow to honor their memory by completing our mission here (in Afghanistan)."

Hope for such a completion tantalizes. President Barack Obama has signaled the start of U.S. troop withdrawal this summer — the launch of a tentative, phased transition to Afghanistan’s security forces. And for the first time in nearly a decade, this will be a Memorial Day without the looming, elusive specter of Osama bin Laden. The June killing of the al-Qaida terrorist, who masterminded the horrific 9/11 attacks of 2001, has brought some measure of closure and honor to those who perished then, and to those who have died in battles since.

It was in 1868 that Gen. John Logan, commander of the veterans organization for Union Civil War soldiers, originated Decoration Day for the "strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion." Memorial Day, changed by Congress in 1968 from March 30 to the last Monday of May to create a three-day weekend, was made a national holiday after World War I and since then has embraced the victims of all wars and of conflicts, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"These American men and women (called to duty) stood their ground, held back the dark forces of oppression and destruction, and advanced our founding principles, ideals, beliefs and values about the right of self-determination," said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, the Hawaii-born retired general, in his Memorial Day message. "They cherished liberty and loved freedom enough to lay down their lives to preserve our way of life."

Today is the time to reflect on the heroic men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice on battlefields in the past three centuries, whether at Vietnam, Afghanistan or Pearl Harbor, giving thanks to those who were based at Hawaii military compounds or were children of the islands. It is a day for people, many of whom are spending time taking advantage of the holiday, to remember those who protected those freedoms.