Memorial Day is a time to remember the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who gave their lives defending this country.
In his blog for the Huffington Post, Craig Considine takes time to remember the Muslim Americans who lost their lives defending freedom for all Americans.
At Arlington National Cemetary are the gravestones of two purple heart recipients, Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan, a Pakistani American, and Ayman Abdelrahman Taha, an Arab American who died in the Iraq War.
Considine points out the contributions of Muslim Americans to the U.S. military goes all the way back to George Washington and the Revolutionary War.
That includes Peter Buckminster who fired the fatal shot that killed Great Britain’s Major General John Pitcairn. Buckminster who was a slave was granted his freedom after the war and changed his name to Salem. Salem would later later re-enlist and fight in the victorious Battle of of Saratoga and the Battle of Stony Point.
You can read more about the Muslim American contribution to the U.S. military in the Huffington Post.