The Office of the Governor of the State of Oregon
05/25/2026 | Press release | Archived content
5/25/2026: Memorial Day Remarks
Memorial Day Remarks
May 1, 2026
Good morning. It's good to be here with you today. Thank you to the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs for hosting today's ceremony and for everything the ODVA team does every day to serve Oregon's veterans.
I also want to recognize other elected leaders, members of the Oregon National Guard, veterans' organizations, community partners, and all those who helped make this day of remembrance possible.
And most importantly, thank you to Oregon veterans and their families, Gold Star families, and active service members and their families. I recognize and appreciate your service and sacrifice.
We come together this morning in solemn remembrance. Our Capitol is surrounded by memorials dedicated to the courage and the service of generations of Oregonians. We know that every one of the hundreds of names on memorials is not just a name - it's a story of an ordinary Oregonian who took extraordinary action on behalf of our freedoms - and it's a story of the family that carries their memory forward.
Memorial Day is not simply a tradition - it is a responsibility. A responsibility to remember the human cost of war. To honor those who never came home. And to ensure their sacrifice is never forgotten.
My father served our country in the Korean War, and I'm so grateful he came home. But I know many of his comrades did not. This past October, I had the honor of recognizing the ultimate sacrifice of the Oregonians who died in the Korean War by laying a wreath at the memorial in their honor at the War Memorial of Korea in Seoul.
Today, we honor those who died and those who are still missing. Today, our country remembers the more than 81,000 American service members who remain unaccounted for. Among them are hundreds of Oregonians whose names are etched into monuments and carried in the hearts of families across our state. We will never forget them.
Later this year, Oregon will formally recognize our state's 14th Medal of Honor recipient. Thanks to years of advocacy and research led by Mr. Dick Tobiason of the Bend Heroes Foundation, the name of Army Private First Class Elmer E. Fryar will finally be added to Oregon's Medal of Honor memorials here at the Capitol and on the grounds of the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs. For more than 80 years, Private Fryar has been listed as missing in action, and his Medal of Honor mistakenly credited to another state. But his story is an Oregon story.
In December 1944, during fierce fighting in the Philippine Islands, Private Fryar singlehandedly held off an enemy platoon that was trying to flank his company. After being wounded while holding off an enemy assault, he continued fighting to cover his unit's withdrawal and help evacuate wounded comrades to safety. Later, while helping a wounded soldier to the rear, he saw an enemy sniper taking aim at his platoon leader. Without a second thought, Private Fryar jumped forward to block the sniper's shot with his own body. Then, despite being mortally wounded, he refused to give up the fight, taking out the sniper with a grenade.
His courage, selflessness, and devotion to his fellow soldiers embodies the very highest ideals of military service. Today, we remember him - alongside every Oregonian and every American who gave their life in defense of this nation.
We honor their sacrifices by remembering. By teaching future generations their stories. By caring for the veterans and military families who carry the weight of service long after war ends. And by continuing to strive to be a nation worthy of their sacrifices.
So, today, let us leave here with renewed gratitude and reverence. May we never forget those who laid down their lives for this country. May we carry their memory forward not only in ceremony, but in action. And may we continue building an Oregon - and a nation - worthy of the extraordinary sacrifice of those we honor today. Thank you.
The Office of the Governor of the State of Oregon published this content on May 25, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 12, 2026 at 23:35 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]