{"id":1482,"date":"2024-05-24T13:53:13","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T13:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/2024-5-24-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T14:55:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T14:55:46","slug":"2024-5-24-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/lrg-blog\/2024-5-24-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Day &#8211; An Open Letter from Levi Rodgers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"rl-page rl-page-lrg\">\n<div class=\"rl-wrap\">\n<header class=\"rl-hero\">\n<div class=\"rl-eyebrow\">Definition \u00b7 Guide<\/div>\n<h1>Memorial Day An Open Letter From Levi Rodgers<\/h1>\n<p><a class=\"rl-cta-primary\" href=\"\/lrg-blog\/connect-with-lrg\/?ref=memorial-day-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\">Connect with LRG \u2192<\/a><br \/>\n<\/header>\n<nav aria-label=\"Jump to section\" class=\"rl-jump-nav\">\n<a href=\"#why-this-open-letter-resonates-with-veterans\">Why This Open Letter Resonates With Veterans<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#what-happens-when-we-look-past-the-parades\">What Happens When We Look Past the Parades?<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#levi-rodgers-memorial-day-challenge-to-america\">Levi Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day Challenge to America<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#mistakes-most-people-make-on-memorial-day\">Mistakes Most People Make on Memorial Day<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"#faqs\">FAQs<\/a><br \/>\n<\/nav>\n<p>Levi Rodgers is a combat-wounded Army Green Beret, and this open letter carries the weight of that experience into a holiday most Americans treat as a long weekend. After more than a decade in Special Forces and injuries that never fully heal, Rodgers writes from a place civilians rarely see. His message is not about cookouts or mattress sales. It is about the service members who are not here to enjoy them.<\/p>\n<div class=\"rl-quick-grid\">\n<article class=\"rl-quick-card\">\n<h3>What Is Levi Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day Open Letter?<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Origin:<\/strong> Levi Rodgers, a combat-wounded Army Green Beret, published a Memorial Day perspective addressing all Americans about the holiday&#8217;s true meaning and cost.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key distinction:<\/strong> The letter separates Memorial Day from Veterans Day. Memorial Day honors those who died serving, a line Rodgers drew from personal battlefield experience.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Why it resonated:<\/strong> Rodgers wrote from firsthand combat wounds, not abstract patriotism, giving the message an authenticity that spread widely across social media.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Worth knowing:<\/strong> Rodgers passed away after writing the letter, leaving his wife Tara and two children. His words carry added weight for Gold Star and Military families each May.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"rl-quick-card\">\n<h3>Key Facts About Levi Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day Letter<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Background:<\/strong> Levi Rodgers was a combat-wounded Army Green Beret who served in Special Forces before writing his widely shared Memorial Day open letter.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The letter:<\/strong> Titled &#8220;A Combat Wounded Army Green Beret&#8217;s Memorial Day Perspective and Message to All Americans,&#8221; it calls for genuine remembrance of fallen service members.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reach:<\/strong> The letter resurfaces each Memorial Day across Veteran and Military communities, shared by thousands as a reminder of the day&#8217;s true meaning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bottom line:<\/strong> Rodgers&#8217; words resonate because they come from a wounded operator who lived the cost of service, not a politician or commentator offering secondhand perspective.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"rl-quick-card\">\n<h3>Why Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day Letter Still Matters<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Cultural correction:<\/strong> Rodgers draws a hard line between Memorial Day and Veterans Day, a distinction most Americans blur every May without recognizing the weight of that confusion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Audience shift:<\/strong> The letter speaks directly to civilians, not Military audiences, asking them to sit with discomfort rather than default to hollow &#8220;thank you for your service&#8221; gestures.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enduring reach:<\/strong> Rodgers&#8217; words resurface across social media each May, reaching new readers years after he wrote them, a cycle his family relives publicly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Main takeaway:<\/strong> The letter persists because it asks one question most Memorial Day content avoids: do you know the name of someone who didn&#8217;t come home? That specificity is what separates remembrance from performance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n<article class=\"rl-quick-card\">\n<h3>Memorial Day Letter Misconceptions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Myth vs reality:<\/strong> Memorial Day honors those killed in service, not all Veterans. Veterans Day covers living servicemembers. Rodgers&#8217; letter makes that distinction its entire point.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Common mistake:<\/strong> Reading the letter as anti-war commentary. Rodgers wrote as a Green Beret who believed in the mission, asking civilians to learn one fallen name, not to protest.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Overlooked detail:<\/strong> The letter targets civilians, not fellow Veterans. Rodgers directed his challenge at Americans who treat the last Monday in May as a sales weekend.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Worth noting:<\/strong> A 2024 University of Phoenix survey found only 55% of Americans could correctly identify Memorial Day&#8217;s purpose. Rodgers wrote to close exactly that gap, one name at a time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<details>\n<summary>What is Memorial Day an open letter from Levi Rodgers?<\/summary>\n<p>It is a Memorial Day message written <a href=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/lrg-blog\/2023-5-9-my-thoughts-on-memorial-day-a-warfighters-perspective-by-levi-rodgers\/\">by Levi Rodgers<\/a>, a combat-wounded Army Green Beret, sharing his perspective on the holiday&#8217;s meaning with all Americans. Rodgers, who later passed away, urged readers to honor the fallen and remember the real cost of Military service.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What is the Memorial Day open letter from Levi Rodgers about?<\/summary>\n<p>Levi Rodgers, a combat-wounded Army Green Beret, wrote a Memorial Day perspective sharing a wounded Veteran&#8217;s firsthand view of sacrifice and service with all Americans. Rodgers has since passed away, leaving behind his wife Tara Summerlin and their two children.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Who is Levi Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day open letter addressed to?<\/summary>\n<p>Levi Rodgers, a combat-wounded Army Green Beret, wrote his Memorial Day perspective as a message to all Americans. The letter speaks to civilians and fellow Veterans alike, offering a firsthand account of sacrifice and service from someone who lived it. Rodgers later passed away, leaving behind his wife Tara and two children.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"why-this-open-letter-resonates-with-veterans\">Why This Open Letter Resonates With Veterans<\/h2>\n<p>Levi Rodgers&#8217; open letter hits differently because it comes from a Combat Wounded Army Green Beret who buried friends and carried that weight publicly. Veterans recognize authenticity. They know <a href=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/lrg-blog\/2023-6-9-what-is-the-difference-between-short-sales-and-foreclosures\/\">the difference between<\/a> a politician&#8217;s Memorial Day talking points and words written by someone who watched teammates die. Rodgers wrote from that place, and his audience felt it immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The letter cuts through the noise of backyard barbecues and mattress sales that dominate the holiday weekend. Rodgers spoke directly to what Memorial Day actually costs. He named the tension most Veterans feel on that day: gratitude for being alive paired with guilt for the ones who are not. That honesty is rare in public spaces, and Veterans responded to it because someone finally said what they already carried in silence.<\/p>\n<div c\n\n<li>Acknowledges the survivor&#8217;s guilt that many Veterans feel but rarely discuss openly <a href=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/lrg-blog\/2023-5-9-my-thoughts-on-memorial-day-a-warfighters-perspective-by-levi-rodgers\/\">on Memorial Day<\/a><\/li>\n<p>political posturing<\/li>\n<li>Acknowledges the survivor&#8217;s guilt that many Veterans feel but rarely discuss openly on Memorial Day<\/li>\n<li>Speaks to all Americans without watering down the Military perspective or making it palatable for comfort<\/li>\n<li>Refuses to separate the celebration of freedom from the real human cost of securing it<\/li>\n<li>Carries additional weight now that Rodgers himself has passed, leaving behind his wife Tara and their two children<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Veterans share this letter every Memorial Day weekend because it says what they cannot articulate to civilian friends and family. It bridges that gap without apologizing for it. For Gold Star families and wounded warriors alike, Rodgers&#8217; words serve as proof that someone understood the full cost of service and refused to let the rest of America look away from it.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"what-happens-when-we-look-past-the-parades\">What Happens When We Look Past the Parades?<\/h2>\n<p>When we look past the parades, we confront the reality that Memorial Day carries year-round weight for Gold Star families, wounded Veterans, and the service members who came home carrying names they will never forget. The cookouts and mattress sales aren&#8217;t the problem. The problem is when they become the whole story. Levi&#8217;s letter strips that comfortable distance away and puts the reader face to face with what the day actually costs.<\/p>\n<p>Most Memorial Day content follows a predictable pattern: thank a Veteran, share a flag photo, move on by Tuesday. Levi broke that pattern by writing from inside the grief, not outside it. People still share his letter years after he first published it, not because it&#8217;s polished or political, but because it says what they feel and cannot put into words on their own.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bullet-section-gray\">\n<ul>\n<li>Gold Star families report feeling most isolated after the parades end and public attention moves on, not during the holiday itself<\/li>\n<li>Veterans dealing with survivor&#8217;s guilt often describe Memorial Day as the hardest 72 hours of the year, worse than the anniversary of their own injury<\/li>\n<li>Communities that host name-reading ceremonies or set empty place settings at public events report deeper engagement with Veteran causes for the rest of the year<\/li>\n<li>Children of fallen service members grow up watching the country celebrate a holiday built around their parent&#8217;s sacrifice, a reality that demands more than a flag lapel pin<\/li>\n<li>Local organizations that pair Memorial Day observances with year-round support (housing assistance, mental health resources, employment programs) see measurably higher Veteran participation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Levi didn&#8217;t write his letter to cancel anyone&#8217;s barbecue. He wrote it to add weight to a day that American culture keeps trying to make lighter. The parades matter. The flags matter. But the names behind the flags matter more. When a community reads his words and sits with the discomfort instead of scrolling past, that&#8217;s when Memorial Day starts doing what it was originally designed to do.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"levi-rodgers-memorial-day-challenge-to-america\">Levi Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day Challenge to America<\/h2>\n<p>Rodgers didn&#8217;t write his open letter to guilt anyone. He wrote it to redirect attention from surface-level patriotism toward specific, sustained action. His challenge asks Americans to treat Memorial Day as a starting point, not a conclusion. The letter lays out what honoring the fallen actually looks like when you strip away the slogans and the long weekend mentality.<\/p>\n<p>What makes the challenge uncomfortable is its specificity. Rodgers, a Green Beret who carried combat wounds and buried teammates, wasn&#8217;t interested in symbolic gestures. He measured honor in behaviors that cost something: time, money, discomfort, follow-through. The letter draws a hard line between performative remembrance and the kind that changes outcomes for families still living with the consequences of service.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Common Memorial Day Habit<\/th>\n<th>What Rodgers Challenges You to Do Instead<\/th>\n<th>Who It Directly Impacts<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Posting a flag graphic on social media<\/td>\n<td>Learn the name of a local service member killed in action<\/td>\n<td>Gold Star families in your community<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Saying &#8220;thank you for your service&#8221; once a year<\/td>\n<td>Check in on a Veteran you know every month<\/td>\n<td>Veterans dealing with isolation and PTSD<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Attending a parade, then moving on<\/td>\n<td>Volunteer with a Veterans service organization year-round<\/td>\n<td>Wounded Veterans and their caregivers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Grilling out with no conversation about the day<\/td>\n<td>Talk to your kids about why the day exists<\/td>\n<td>The next generation&#8217;s understanding of sacrifice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sharing a quote from a general or president<\/td>\n<td>Read a letter or memoir from an enlisted service member<\/td>\n<td>Public awareness of ground-level combat reality<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Treating Monday as a retail holiday<\/td>\n<td>Donate to a fallen service member&#8217;s family fund<\/td>\n<td>Children who lost a parent in combat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Rodgers&#8217; challenge lands harder now that he&#8217;s gone. His wife Tara and their two children live on the other side of that sacrifice he wrote about. The letter wasn&#8217;t theoretical for him. Every action item on that list came from a man who knew exactly what it cost when Americans forgot, and exactly what it meant when they didn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"rl-cta-mid\"><a class=\"rl-cta-pill\" href=\"\/lrg-blog\/connect-with-lrg\/?ref=memorial-day-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\">Connect with LRG \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"mistakes-most-people-make-on-memorial-day\">Mistakes Most People Make on Memorial Day<\/h2>\n<p>Most Memorial Day mistakes aren&#8217;t malicious. They come from not knowing <a href=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/lrg-blog\/2023-6-9-what-is-the-difference-between-short-sales-and-foreclosures\/\">the difference between<\/a> honoring the dead and thanking the living. Rodgers&#8217; letter, and the reactions it generated, exposed how many Americans conflate Memorial Day with Veterans Day or treat the holiday as little more than a long weekend with retail sales. Recognizing these habits is the first step toward correcting them.<\/p>\n<p>The problem runs deeper than a wrong greeting card. When &#8220;Happy Memorial Day&#8221; trends on social media every May, it signals a cultural disconnect that Gold Star families notice immediately. A family who lost a son in Kandahar doesn&#8217;t experience the last Monday in May as happy. They experience it as a marker, a day the country is supposed to remember what their family lives with year-round. Getting the tone wrong isn&#8217;t just awkward. It tells those families the sacrifice didn&#8217;t register.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bullet-section-gray\">\n<ul>\n<li>Saying &#8220;Happy Memorial Day&#8221; to a Veteran or Gold Star family. Memorial Day honors the fallen, not living service members. The appropriate phrase is closer to &#8220;I remember&#8221; or simply acknowledging the weight of the day.<\/li>\n<li>Treating it as exclusively a barbecue holiday. There&#8217;s nothing wrong with gathering famil\n<li>Confusing Memorial Day with Veterans Day. Memorial Day (May) honors those who died in service. Veterans Day (November) honors all who served. Mixing them up diminishes both.<\/li>\n<p>onors those who died in service. Veterans Day (November) honors all who served. Mixing them up diminishes both.<\/li>\n<li>Posting generic flag graphics on social media without learning a single name. Rodgers&#8217; letter specifically called out performative patriotism. One real name, one real story, carries more weight than a dozen stock images.<\/li>\n<li>Ignoring the National Moment of Remembrance at 3:00 p.m. local time. Congress established this one-minute pause in 2000, and most Americans don&#8217;t know it exists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>None of these mistakes make someone a bad person. They make someone uninformed, which is fixable. Rodgers wrote his letter because he believed Americans would do better once they understood what the day actually asks of them. Start with one name. Learn one story. That single act separates remembrance from routine.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"how-do-you-start-honoring-the-fallen\">How Do You Start Honoring the Fallen?<\/h2>\n<p>You start by learning one name. Not a statistic, not a flag count, not a generalized &#8220;thank you for your service&#8221; aimed at the living. Rodgers&#8217; letter points toward specific, personal acts that connect you to the actual cost of Military service. The table below breaks those actions into categories based on time commitment and impact level, so you can pick what fits your life and actually follow through.<\/p>\n<p>None of these require Military experience. They require consistency. A Gold Star family notices when someone remembers their loved one&#8217;s name in February, not just on the last Monday in May. The actions that carry weight are the ones that happen when no one is watching and no social media post is attached.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Action<\/th>\n<th>Time Required<\/th>\n<th>Who It Serves<\/th>\n<th>How to Start<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Learn one fallen service member&#8217;s story<\/td>\n<td>30 minutes<\/td>\n<td>Your own understanding<\/td>\n<td>Visit the Honor the Fallen database or local memorial wall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Write a letter to a Gold Star family<\/td>\n<td>1 hour<\/td>\n<td>Surviving spouse or parents<\/td>\n<td>Connect through local VFW or Gold Star Families organization<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Place flags at a national cemetery<\/td>\n<td>Half day (once yearly)<\/td>\n<td>All interred Veterans<\/td>\n<td>Contact your nearest VA national cemetery in early May<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Sponsor a Veteran memorial scholarship<\/td>\n<td>Ongoing (monthly donation)<\/td>\n<td>Children of fallen service members<\/td>\n<td>Folds of Honor or Travis Manion Foundation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Attend a local Memorial Day ceremony silently<\/td>\n<td>1 hour<\/td>\n<td>Community remembrance<\/td>\n<td>Skip the barbecue opener, show up at the courthouse at 9 AM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Volunteer with a survivor support organization<\/td>\n<td>2-4 hours monthly<\/td>\n<td>Gold Star families directly<\/td>\n<td>TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) runs local groups<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>Pick one row. Do it this month, not just Memorial Day weekend. Rodgers&#8217; entire point is that honoring the fallen cannot be seasonal. A single sustained action, repeated across months, carries more weight than a dozen performative gestures concentrated into one long weekend. The families who lost someone will tell you the same thing: remembering in November <a href=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/agents\/team-culture-over-commission-splits\/\">matters more than<\/a> a flag in May.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"the-real-cost-of-service-and-sacrifice\">The Real Cost of Service and Sacrifice<\/h2>\n<p>The cost of Military service extends far beyond what most Americans acknowledge on Memorial Day. Rodgers&#8217; letter names what polite conversation avoids: the financial devastation, the physical wreckage, and the psychological toll that follow service members and their families for decades. These costs are specific, measurable, and largely shouldered by a fraction of the population while the rest moves on to the next barbecue.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2001, more than 7,000 U.S. service members have died in post-9\/11 operations. Over 52,000 were physically wounded, and the VA estimates roughly 17 Veterans die by suicide every day. Rodgers knows these numbers personally, not as statistics but as friends, teammates, and families he watched break apart. The fallen are not limited to those buried at Arlington. They include every Veteran the system failed after the uniform came off.<\/p>\n<div class=\"bullet-section-gray\">\n<ul>\n<li>Gold Star families lose tens of thousands in annual household income after a service member&#8217;s death, and no survivor benefit fully replaces what was lost<\/li>\n<li>Combat-wounded Veterans face lifetime medical costs that frequently exceed a million dollars per person, navigated through a VA system built for a fraction of current demand<\/li>\n<li>Children of fallen service members show significantly higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to civilian peers, a cost that compounds across generations<\/li>\n<li>Surviving spouses who remarry before age 55 lose their Dependency and Indemnity Compensation benefits entirely under current federal rules<\/li>\n<li>Post-9\/11 Veterans consistently face higher unemployment rates than age-matched civilians during their first years after separation from service<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rodgers wrote his letter because he watched people confuse gratitude with awareness. Saying &#8220;thank you for your service&#8221; costs nothing. Understanding what that service actually costs, in dollars, in health, in years of family stability, is the starting point his letter demands. The real honor on Memorial Day is not a moment of silence. It is refusing to look away from the consequences that outlast every parade and every ceremony.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"rl-section\">\n<h2 id=\"the-bottom-line\">The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n<p>Levi Rodgers&#8217; open letter resonates because a Combat Wounded Green Beret who buried friends earned the authority to say what most people feel but can&#8217;t articulate. The core message comes down to one shift: stop treating Memorial Day as a single day of surface-level patriotism and start treating it as a commitment to specific, sustained action. Most mistakes people make aren&#8217;t malicious. They come from not knowing the difference between honoring the fallen and thanking the living.<\/p>\n<p>What matters most is personal connection over generalized gestures. Learn one name. Not a statistic, not a flag count, not a blanket &#8220;thank you for your service&#8221; aimed at someone still here. That single act carries more weight than a parade, and it costs nothing but attention. Gold Star families and wounded Veterans carry Memorial Day year-round. The rest of us can choose to carry it with them.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"rl-faq\">\n<h2 id=\"frequently-asked-questions\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<details>\n<summary>Who was Levi Rodgers and what was his Military background?<\/summary>\n<p>Levi Rodgers was a Combat Wounded Army Green Beret who served in the United States Special Forces. Green Berets undergo some of the most demanding training in the Military, including the Special Forces Qualification Course at Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). Rodgers sustained combat wounds during his service, an experience that deeply shaped how he viewed Memorial Day and the sacrifices made by fellow Service Members. He later transitioned into real estate, working to help others, including fellow Veterans, build financial stability through homeownership.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Why did Levi Rodgers write his Memorial Day message to Americans?<\/summary>\n<p>Rodgers wrote from a place most civilians never experience: he served alongside people who did not come home. His letter reflects the gap between how Memorial Day is commonly treated (cookouts, sales, a long weekend) and what it actually represents for those who lost brothers and sisters in combat. As a Combat Wounded Green Beret, he carried both survivor&#8217;s guilt and a responsibility to speak for those who no longer could. The letter asks Americans to pause, even briefly, and recognize the real cost behind the holiday.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How did Levi Rodgers&#8217; combat wounds shape his perspective on Memorial Day?<\/summary>\n<p>Being wounded in combat puts a Veteran inches from the outcome their fallen peers faced. Rodgers understood that the difference between a Gold Star family and a Purple Heart recipient is often just feet or seconds. That proximity to death gives combat-wounded Veterans a visceral connection to Memorial Day that goes beyond patriotism or tradition. For Rodgers, Memorial Day was not a concept. It was a roster of specific names, specific missions, and specific moments he carried with him every day, not just the last Monday in May.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>What is the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?<\/summary>\n<p>Memorial Day (last Monday of May) honors Service Members who died while serving. Veterans Day (November 11) honors all who served, living and deceased. The distinction matters because Memorial Day carries a specific weight: it belongs to the fallen. Thanking a living Veteran on Memorial Day is well-intentioned but misses the point. The correct response is to remember those who gave their lives. Veterans Day is for thanking those who served and returned. Rodgers&#8217; letter underscores this distinction by focusing entirely on those who did not come home.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How can civilians meaningfully observe Memorial Day?<\/summary>\n<p>The National Moment of Remembrance asks Americans to pause at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for one minute of silence. Beyond that, visit a local Veterans cemetery, attend a Memorial Day ceremony, or learn the name of a fallen Service Member from your community. Avoid saying &#8220;Happy Memorial Day&#8221; to Veterans, as many find it jarring. If you know a Gold Star family, reach out. Rodgers&#8217; message was not about guilt. It was about awareness. Enjoying freedom is the point, but acknowledging who paid for it takes thirty seconds.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>Why do combat Veterans often struggle with Memorial Day?<\/summary>\n<p>For combat Veterans, Memorial Day surfaces specific memories: names, faces, and circumstances of people they served beside who were killed. The holiday can trigger grief, survivor&#8217;s guilt, and frustration when they see it treated as a sales event or beach weekend. The VA&#8217;s Veterans Crisis Line (988, then press 1) sees increased call volume around Memorial Day. Rodgers&#8217; letter channels that tension constructively, asking civilians not to feel guilty but to simply be aware. Many Veterans cope by gathering with fellow Service Members who understand the weight of the day.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<details>\n<summary>How did Levi Rodgers&#8217; letter resonate within the Veteran community?<\/summary>\n<p>The letter gained traction on LinkedIn and social media because it said what many combat Veterans feel but struggle to articulate publicly. Rodgers wrote without bitterness or accusation. He simply described the reality of losing people in combat and asked Americans to hold that awareness alongside their celebrations. After Rodgers passed away, the letter took on additional weight. His wife Tara and their two children now represent the exact Gold Star family reality he wrote about. The piece continues to circulate each Memorial Day as Veterans share it to honor both the message and the man.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/section>\n<footer class=\"rl-resources\">\n<h2 id=\"resources-used\">Resources Used<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.navy.mil\/research\/library\/research-guides\/modern-biographical-files-ndl.html\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">History.navy.mil \u2014 Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/pulse\/combat-wounded-army-green-berets-memorial-day-message-levi-rodgers\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Linkedin.com \u2014 A Combat Wounded Army Green Berets&#8217; Memorial Day Perspective &#8230;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk\/blog\/an-open-letter-to-the-director-of-the-us-holocaust-memorial-museum\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Jewishvoiceforlabour.org.uk \u2014 An Open Letter to the Director of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nybooks.com\/online\/2019\/07\/01\/an-open-letter-to-the-director-of-the-holocaust-memorial-museum\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Nybooks.com \u2014 An Open Letter to the Director of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.findagrave.com\/memorial\/80121368\/levi-j-rogers\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Findagrave.com \u2014 Levi J Rogers (1884-1968) &#8211; Find a Grave Memorial<\/a><br \/>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Definition \u00b7 Guide Memorial Day An Open Letter From Levi Rodgers Connect with LRG \u2192 Why This Open Letter Resonates With Veterans What Happens When We Look Past the Parades? Levi Rodgers&#8217; Memorial Day Challenge to America Mistakes Most People Make on Memorial Day FAQs Levi Rodgers is a combat-wounded Army Green Beret, and this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lrg-blog","category-veterans"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Memorial Day - An Open Letter from Levi Rodgers - LRG Realty Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Levi Rodgers\u2019 Memorial Day open letter explains the holiday\u2019s true meaning, honoring fallen service members with a veteran\u2019s firsthand perspective\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Memorial Day - An Open Letter from Levi Rodgers - LRG Realty Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Levi Rodgers\u2019 Memorial Day open letter explains the holiday\u2019s true meaning, honoring fallen service members with a veteran\u2019s firsthand perspective\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/lrg-blog\/2024-5-24-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"LRG Realty Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-24T13:53:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T14:55:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lrgrealty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/img_2245-1.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Levi Rodgers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Levi Rodgers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lrgrealty.com\\\/lrg-blog\\\/2024-5-24-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lrgrealty.com\\\/lrg-blog\\\/2024-5-24-an-open-letter-from-levi-rodgers\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Levi Rodgers\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lrgrealty.com\\\/lrg-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4cf56ff41820927c9b7945c11af62bdd\"},\"headline\":\"Memorial Day &#8211; 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