Though most people would probably vote for Fourth of July, a case can be made to call Memorial Day the most American of holidays.

On the day in late spring, which unofficially signals the start of the summer holiday season, Americans pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation in military service.

It’s a time of speeches, parades, Taps and hot dogs. It’s a time when we place flowers on the graves of those who served.

Nowadays, we tend to speak about “security” when discussing the role of the military, but that word underplays what those in the armed services have done, and continue to do, to protect our freedom.

Yes, the military keeps us safe from those abroad who want to do us harm. But there’s more to it than that.

Men and women fought and died to protect our values as much as our lives.

The holiday was begun as a way to commemorate the hundreds of thousands of men who died protecting the Union in the Civil War.

It wasn’t a war about foreign aggression, but a bloody conflict to keep the Union together.

Let’s all take a moment this weekend to salute those who sacrificed to keep us American.

The first Memorial Day event on Whidbey is Coupeville’s annual parade, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday. A remembrance ceremony and concert follows in Town Park.

Two Memorial Day ceremonies will be held Monday, hosted by George Morris Post No. 129 American Legion. The first is 10:30 a.m. at Maple Leaf Cemetery in Oak Harbor. It will be followed by a second ceremony at Sunnyside Cemetery in Coupeville at 11:30 p.m.

The public is invited to both.