Joe has never felt comfortable with the greeting, “Happy Memorial Day.”

It’s not meant to be a happy day.

Joe adores summer. Women wear less and the cold beer tastes colder. Most importantly, the weather is nice and warm. It’s all good.

It also helps that the summer is traditionally bookmarked by three-day weekends, with America’s birthday right smack dab in the middle.

If you are like Joe, at some point today you will grill raw meat and crack open several beers. If you are fortunate, then you are watching glorious bikinis from a boat in the Gulf or at the beach. If so, saluto!

But please take a moment to remember the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to guzzle beer, ingest mass quantities of meat and throw (digital) rocks at each other when discussing our beloved Bucs. A U.S. flag, small or large, on your property or apartment deck is always a great touch, too.

Remember that heroes didn’t come home.

Yes, our day at the beach is brought to you by those who hit the beach and never left it, whether it was at Normandy, Iwo Jima, Anzio or so many, many more.