Memorial Day is a solemn and sad occasion honoring the American soldiers who gave their lives in war. But it is also a hallowed day because the values those men fought to defend for the essence of our country: freedom and the rights of the individual.

The greatest soldiers of American history knew that freedom was sacred; no price paid on its behalf was a sacrifice. George Washington, as commander of the Continental Army, led the way. Despite his years of struggle, and the hardships endured, Washington refused pay for his service. He used his own fortune to help finance the war effort, and, when the revolution was won, took no money from Congress to help with the much-needed rebuilding of his Mount Vernon estate. General Washington recognized that freedom from tyranny was its own reward. His stirring words to Joseph Reed make clear his (and his compatriots’) reasons for waging the Revolutionary War: “The spirit of freedom beat too high in us to submit to slavery.”

Freedom is based on the inalienable right of each individual to pursue his own goals and his own personal happiness. During America’s revolutionary period, one New Hampshire state document summed up the thinking of our founding fathers regarding individual rights, “among which are enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting property; and, in a word, of seeking and obtaining happiness.” This is the principle – and the spirit – that our soldiers defend.

The meaning of Memorial Day is particularly pressing today when the United States is engaged in a war against fanatics who represent the extreme of intellectual, religious and political suppression. Freedom is unknown and utterly alien in the countries that support terrorists. They feel threatened by our most cherished principles and institutions, and so they seek to destroy us.

What protects us is our moral courage and our military might. If President Bush has the moral conviction to permit our soldiers to fully wage war against our enemies, they will prevail, as they have so many times in the past. Once again, their blood and their lives, spilled and lost in defense of freedom, will not have been given in vain. On Memorial Day we solemnly and properly honor those heroes who have fought and died in defense of America’s freedom.

Andrew Bernstein

Ayn Rand Institute

Marina del Rey, Calif.