Next year, America marks its 250th birthday. With a charter dating to 1899, Hancock Whitney has been around for more than half that time, helping to create opportunities for people and communities across the American Gulf South. Our country has stayed strong and free — and, in turn, our company has been able to help people achieve their dreams for 125-plus years — in great part because of those who have served and sacrificed with America’s military.
On Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, we remember and pay special tribute to millions of individuals who fought and died to defend the democratic principles on which our Nation was founded. The earliest ceremonies saluting those lost in service began not too long before our bank began and, over the next century, evolved into the official federal holiday we know now as Memorial Day. Many people also consider Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer.
While we may take the day to barbeque, go boating, or visit the beach, we should also always bear in mind that we have the liberty to relax with family and friends because of the bravery of so many whose ultimate sacrifice helped secure our land of the free. Their valor and loss beget a debt that we can never repay, must always honor, and can never take for granted. The heartache their loved ones endured helped forge the bedrock on which we continue to build and grow as a United States.
In cities and towns across the country, landmarks honor those who served and sacrificed. On Memorial Day, citizens will gather at those monuments to revere and remember those who died in service. As we celebrate with those important to us, we, too, should take time to revere those who died to keep America free and to remember those who suffered their loss.
Tears of Sorrow, Tears of Joy. Memorials across America honor those who served and those lost in service with the U.S. military. High above Mobile Bay and less than a mile from Hancock Whitney’s financial center, the Fairhope, Alabama, war memorial inscribed “On Behalf of a Grateful Nation” features bronze statues of a grieving woman clutching a folded flag and a returning soldier presenting a small flag to his young son. Water representing tears of sorrow and joy flow over supporting pedestals.
This Memorial Day, our Hancock Whitney family honors all who served and died to protect our country and those who lost loved ones in service.
We also thank veterans and active-duty military who have carried on that courageous American spirit at home and abroad and those sacrificing with and supporting them to keep our country strong and free.
May your Memorial Day be safe and blessed.