SAN DIEGO -- “The land of the free” is a phrase that describes the great country that we live in. Some people do not realize just how free America really is.

The U.S. military has fought in many wars to preserve the beliefs America stands for. Many service members have made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their life for their country. Memorial Day honors such men and women, and is celebrated throughout the country.

The Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial in La Jolla, Calif., was the site of a celebration in honor of those who have fallen protecting our great country. The theme this year was, “Service to America.”

The memorial has more than 1,700 black granite plaques. Each tells the story of a veteran’s military career. An enormous cross as well as a large American flag, stands atop the memorial, in respect to the living and deceased service members.

The memorial at Mt. Soledad was originally dedicated as a Korean War Memorial. However, it now honors veterans from all wars and conflicts.

The ceremony kicked off in the afternoon with music by the Navy Band Southwest, directed by Lt. Cmdr. Dale Yager.

“It is an honor to play here today,” said Yager. “It is not the first time we have played at this monument; we played here in November for the Veterans Day ceremony.”

The Navy band played patriotic songs before the ceremony, to try and set the mood for a solemn service.

Rear Adm. Joseph Maguire, commander, Naval Special Warfare Command, was the “Service to America” keynote speaker.

“Today we honor those who gave their lives to our country,” said Maguire. “Some need no effort at all to remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

As a nation at war, sometimes we forget to thank our troops for their service.

We are a nation at war this memorial day. For more than four years we have been at war on terrorism, which is longer than we fought in WW II, said Maguire.

Maguire went on to speak about a Navy SEAL team, which lost three of their four members during a patrol in June 2005. The team itself was reported missing June 28.

These SEAL’s were patrolling deep in the Himalayas’ when they encountered a large enemy force. The injured Lt. Michael P. Murphy exposed himself to enemy fire to radio for help.

A team of SEAL’s and Army Special Forces were sent to rescue them; however the transport Chinook was shot down by a rocket propelled grenade, killing the 16 troops aboard.

As Maguire finished his speech, the echo of taps sounded through the calm air during a moment of silence.

The ceremony concluded with the Navy band playing “God Bless America,” and the voices of hundreds of people, singing “God bless America, the land that I love.”

The ceremony concluded with the Navy band playing “God Bless America,” and the voices of hundreds of people, singing “God bless America, land that I love.”