The O’Toole Chronicles: Honor our fallen soldiers by honoring those who served and returned

Honor our fallen soldiers by honoring those who served and returned

“Thank you, for your service.” We say it when we meet an individual who is either serving in the U.S. Armed Forces or who has served. It is something we say to the living.

The families who have lost a son or daughter while they were on active duty in the military are called Gold Star families. We honor the sacrifice made by the individual who died while serving and their families that still grieve. We say to those families, “Thank you, for your sacrifice.”

Memorial Day in 21st century America has become the unofficial start of summer, with barbecues and trips to the shore, or a day to take advantage of sales at malls, stores, and online.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating the beginning of summer, but we cannot lose sight of why we have such a luxury as a summer vacation, or more important, we cannot forget that there are families – Gold Star families – who will not celebrate with a loved one.

Memorial Day’s roots go back to the end of the Civil War and the practice of laying flowers or decorations on the graves of soldiers who served in the Union Army. As years passed, and tragically, the number of wars that U.S. troops were called upon to make the “ultimate sacrifice” multiplied, “Decoration Day” gave way to Memorial Day.

While we celebrate and honor all veterans on Veterans Day on November 11th, Memorial Day has become focused on those who have died. But we honor those who died serving our country by never forgetting to honor those who are serving and those who have served. The latter cohort is not easily recognized. They do not walk around in uniforms. These dedicated Americans returned stateside to bring their skills and dedication to mission to our workforce as civilians.

They are working in hospitals and clinics, offices and finance, stores and factories, schools and universities – in short, wherever we go, we work, we pray, and we live, we are augmented by veterans sharing our good and bad times.

That is true at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Veteran employees make up more than 5 percent of the agency’s workforce. I hope that percentage continues to increase.

The Port Authority Veterans Association (PAVA), an Employee Business Resource Group within the Port Authority, was established in 2017 to foster an active community among Port Authority professionals and lead agency efforts to provide support to all veteran, retired, active duty, and reserve members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Through PAVA’s activities, veterans share their experiences and strengthen networks across the agency, while further developing leaders in the Port Authority. Additionally, PAVA supports the agency by attracting and retaining talented military candidates and supporting their successful transition to the civilian workforce.

Additionally, the Port Authority launched a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOB) program in 2019. It certifies businesses as veteran-owned for the opportunity to contract with the agency. To date, there are 143 active certified veteran owned firms. And awards for SDVOB total over $56 million from January 2021 (when the Port Authority began tracking this number) through April 25, 2025.

That’s impressive, but as I say about everything at the Port Authority: We can do even more.

All of us can do more.

Memorial Day is a single day of the year, but what it represents is a 365-day-a-year call to action. We talk a lot about patriotism in our national discourse these days. Our veterans didn’t talk about it; they lived it. And some, gave their lives for it.

Our nation was founded on the belief that all people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Liberty does not come without a price. Our Founders fought for it. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died in the wars that have followed fighting for it. We can never take that liberty for granted or take for granted the sacrifices made by those who today are among us who served our country.

Whether it is hiring veterans, offering training and educational support, or listening to their stories of sacrifice, we must do all we can to honor those who have died in service by supporting those who are living who served.

“Thank you, for your service.” They are not just words; they are an affirmation of all that makes this nation extraordinary.

To all who are serving today, to all who have served, and to all the families and friends of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I wish a good Memorial Day. In the Jewish faith, there is a tradition of saying after a death, “May their memory be a blessing.”

Yes, may their memory be a blessing.

Kevin J. O’Toole is the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.