What is National Supreme Sacrifice Day?
National Supreme Sacrifice Day honors those who have made extraordinary sacrifices for the sake and the benefit of others, as well as those who sacrifice their lives every day for us.
The men and women in uniform who have sacrificed their lives for their country and communities are the most likely to be remembered. This day also honors those who may have stepped forward during times of crisis to save a stranger or a neighbor, as well as the supreme sacrifice that day.
These sacrifices come in a variety of ways. We don't always recognize them when we see them, nor do we ever expect them. Even though they were only 200 yards away, they were only 200 yards away from seeing their house, as in the case of one young Miner who saved the lives of 11-year-old Emmet and 8-year-old Myrdith when the sleigh they were in overturned during a blizzard so heavy they couldn't see their house. They couldn't hear their father's voice calling to them, even though they could't hear their father's voice screaming to them. They'd taken home from school in rural North Dakota on March 15, 1920, and were caught up in the blizzard. Hazel Miner, Hazel Miner's 16-year-old sister, shielded her siblings with her body by holding the blankets in place over her siblings through the night. Hazel Miner died that night, but her siblings' lives were saved because of her mother's actions.
These sacrifices don't always come in uniform and are often unveiled, and they are often unmanned. These heroes step up when we least expect it and when we need it most.
