Honoring Memorial Day (24 images)

Amidst the clothing and mattress sales, there's a critical importance to Memorial Day: Commemorating and honoring those who gave their lives and service so that we may continue about our lives. Here are some of our best pictures from the holiday over the past few years.

A shrine dedicated to the POW/MIA soldiers of the Vietnam and Korean Wars sits with a backdrop of an American flag on the mall, May 25, 1998. The shrine was constructed by the Massachusetts Vigil Society for Memorial Day. UPI ms/Michael Smith

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A woman visit a gravestone in section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on Memorial Day, May 31, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

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Visitors mourn the loss of friends and family at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC on May 27, 2011. Memorial services will be held here and around the country on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

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Eleven month old John Eric Taylor whose father just returned from combat in Iraq plays amongst the head stones in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery during Memorial Day services there, May 30, 2005, in San Diego, California. ( UPI Photo / Earl S. Cryer)

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