A Memorial Day Message from Fordham’s Office of the President
Each year on Memorial Day, Fordham pauses to reflect on the cost of freedom and to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. This annual message, shared by the Office of the President, was written by the Office of Military and Veterans’ Services, with gratitude and reverence for our fallen heroes.
Dear Fordham Community,
Each Memorial Day, we pause to reflect on the cost of our freedom—paid by those who gave their lives in uniform. While the long weekend offers rest and time with loved ones, it also calls us to remember.
Fordham’s legacy of service runs deep. Across our campuses and beyond, plaques and monuments honor alumni and community members who gave everything in defense of others—lasting tributes to lives lived with courage and conviction.
We remember Nicholas Aleman, a Marine and student at Fordham College of Liberal Studies (now PCS), killed in Afghanistan on Dec. 5, 2010. Then-President Joseph M. McShane, S.J., said it best:
“To lose a child in the prime of life is the worst nightmare of every parent… it is heartbreaking.”
We remember those from the surrounding community as well, like Marine Cpl. Ramona M. Valdez, who died in Iraq just days before her 21st birthday, and Army Private First-Class Luis Moreno, only 19 when killed in Baghdad. The intersection of Fordham Road and Grand Concourse has been co-named in their honor.
And we remember Sean Patrick Tallon, a U.S. Marine and FDNY firefighter who responded on 9/11 and never came home. A first-generation Irish-American and devout Catholic, Sean played football at Fordham Prep and was raised in the same Jesuit tradition that continues to shape our students today. Sean and I served in the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, a Marine Corps Reserve unit based in New York. I had the honor of helping coordinate his memorial and writing his story—it remains one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
Their sacrifice binds them and reminds us of our cherished ideals: selflessness, courage, and a commitment to something greater than ourselves.
As Scottish poet Thomas Campbell wrote:
“To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”
This Memorial Day, let us hold fast to this truth. Though their bodies are gone, the memory of these brave men and women endures—alive in the stories we tell, the gratitude we carry, and the lives we lead. To live in our hearts is their immortality.
With respect and remembrance,
Sam Kille
Digital Communications Manager
Office of Military and Veterans’ Services
U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
Featured photo: Sgt. Nicholas Aleman while serving in Afghanistan.
