Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina knows a lot about working to give the residents of NC the peace of mind that comes from knowing you and your family are covered for all of your health care needs.  BCBSNC understands the value implicit in being covered when it counts.  As Americans, however, Memorial Day is a sobering reminder that peace of mind and knowing someone has your back in times of trouble doesn’t come free.   That is what Memorial Day is all about.  This weekend we celebrate the men and women of the Armed Forces, both past and present, who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom and protection.

Although Memorial Day is typically, and I think appropriately, celebrated by throwing some burgers on the grill in the backyard, the holiday has some important origins.  Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed every year on the last Monday of May.  The holiday originated after the American Civil War to honor soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies who had died during the war.  Even today, many people visit cemeteries or war memorials on this day and hundreds of volunteers place a small American flag on each grave in the national cemeteries.  Not to be confused with Veteran’s Day, which honors all the men and women of the Armed Forces, Memorial Day is a day specifically intended to celebrate and remember the service members who died while serving.

The traditional observance of Memorial Day is as follows:  The United States flag is raised to the top of the staff and then slowly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains until noon.  The half-staff position is in memory of the more than one million men and women who have given their lives in service of their country.  At noon, the flag is then raised by the living to full-staff as a symbolic resolution not to let the sacrifice of the dead be in vain, but to stand in their place and continue to fight for liberty.

This Memorial Day, while we are grilling burgers, taking our kids to the beach or taking our boats out to sea with friends, let us a take a moment and be thankful for the freedom we still enjoy.  It may sound pithy, but freedom really isn’t free and the fact that we can do the things we love the most is a gift for which many men and women have given their lives.

For more information on acquiring Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina health insurance coverage, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

The above lines were written by Robert Laurence Binyon in September of 1914, but they are still and most especially, true today.  As residents of North Carolina, one of the largest state contributors of military service members in the nation, the agents at NC Health Plans would like to take a moment and remember those men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.  Although Memorial Day is often celebrated by eating a burger on a boat or having a beer at the beach, we are sincerely grateful we enjoy the freedom to work and relax as we see fit.

And we recognize that such freedom was purchased at a price.

For more information on North Carolina insurance coverage, please visit our website at www.nchealthplans.com or call our toll free number 888-765-5400 and speak with one of our experienced and professional agents.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has been providing coverage to the residents of North Carolina for over 75 years, including many former service members and their families.  In honor of those service men and women, NC HealthPlans would like to wish you a happy Veterans Day. Whether you are active duty or retired, stationed home or abroad, a military member or one of the spouses and children who provide stability and support, we want to offer our heartfelt thanks!  Having myself been married to a United States Marine for almost twenty years now, I am personally grateful for anyone who has ever served and understand the sacrifice it takes to do one of the hardest jobs in the country.

Honestly, even as the spouse of a military member, it is easy for me to take for granted the fact that I go to work, drive my children to school, take my daughter shopping and sleep every night under a blanket of freedom that is provided by real people sacrificing real time in order to keep our country safe and secure.  Veterans Day is a day to consciously consider those people who are “on the wall,” so to speak, and to honor them for their service to our nation. (more…)