Every day, peace officers put on their uniforms and go to work to safeguard America's communities and uphold the freedoms we hold dear. This weekend is Memorial Day and we will honor another group of individuals whose contributions and sacrifice have made this country safer. On Memorial Day we pay respect to veterans who have died serving our country.

This Memorial Day is especially meaningful to the LAPD in the wake of the recent death of Sgt. Major Robert “R.J.” Cottle. R.J. was not only a 27-year Marine veteran who was killed in Afghanistan; he was a highly regarded LAPD SWAT officer.

This weekend we will remember soldiers like R.J. who are America's patriots and gave what Abraham Lincoln called the last full measure of devotion. Their ultimate sacrifice serves as a constant reminder of the high cost of freedom and the hope for a safer, more peaceful world.

Please take time this Memorial Day to do more than just mark a three-day weekend. We can all make a difference with our individual acts, such as saying a prayer for the families of those who have lost loved ones, visiting the grave of a fallen veteran, or attending or participating in a Memorial Day parade.

We must also remember those veterans who returned home physically but are emotionally scarred by the horrors of war – horrors that continue to haunt them years and decades after the battle has ended. We have a responsibility to our wartime disabled, an obligation that cannot be discharged by the passage of time, or excused by monetary constraint.

Memorial Day is about many things, but it is mostly about refusing to forget. In your prayers this weekend, please take the time to honor the memory of R.J. and other American veterans who fought to bring peace, freedom, and prosperity to the world.