“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic . . . and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office that I am about to enter, so help me God.”Army Brigadier General Emory Jack Hagan doesn’t take the oath that those serving America make lightly.“This is the blank check every Marine, solider, airman, and Coast Guard sign for the oath of office,” Hagan told more than 2,000 in attendance Sunday afternoon during Memorial Day weekend ceremonies at Woodward Park. “We are here today to pay respect for those who have had their check cashed.”The general looked to his left acknowledging the 7,000 crosses for those that have fallen so far in the Global War on Terror as well as the Vietnam Moving Wall inscribed with 58,310 more names stood where soccer games took place just a week ago.By 3 p.m. today when the Moving Wall and the tributes will close, The Not Forgotten Committee anticipates upwards of 40,000 people will have paid their respect to the fallen. The afternoon ceremonies recognized the sacrifices of the fallen and the Gold Star families they left behind.And as Hagan pointed, Memorial Day honors the sacrifices made by more than 1.2 million men and women who went to war to secure freedom since the days of the American Revolution.Hagan noted 622,000 of those deaths occurred in the Civil War whose last battle was fought 150 years ago this year.“That’s 49 percent of all casualties in more than 200 years,” Hagan emphasized.Hagan said the Civil War experience demonstrated what sets America apart.When the war that pitted brother against brother ended, he noted hands were shook and everyone went home.“No one was hung, no one was sent to jail,” Hagan said.The general said of all the memorial events that have been conducted through the years one poignant occurrence has been overlooked.It happened on May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina.