'Do right by that sacrifice': Veterans serving in Congress have a Memorial Day message for Americans

WASHINGTON — Memorial Day is a federal holiday that commemorates the lives of American troops who died in service to the country. While lawmakers across Washington observed the holiday through tribute services and eulogizing statements, many lawmakers who are military veterans gave especially empathic reflections.

There are currently 91 veteran members of Congress, including 17 senators and 74 members of the House of Representatives. As with the broader population, the number of veterans in Congress has declined in the decades after the draft was eliminated after the Vietnam War. 

That decline, the result of an increasingly professionalized military, has also meant that the burden of U.S. wars has fallen on a shrinking number of American families. Veteran lawmakers are among the highest-profile advocates for armed service members and their families. Many took this year's Memorial Day to again address issues specific to the lived experience of millions of Americans — and their own.