During this holiday that has come to signify the beginning of summer celebrated with days off from work, a famous road race and backyard barbecues, let us remember the real meaning of Memorial Day: to honor those Americans who have paid the ultimate price in the defense of our freedom. In my own family, we honor my maternal uncle, Bob Silva of Alameda, Calif. A P-51 Mustang pilot, 1st Lt. Robert G. Silva, U.S. Army Air Corps, of the 354th Fighter Group known as the “Pioneer Mustangs,” was lost over the North Sea while escorting the first daytime bombing raid to Berlin on March 4, 1944. Neither his body nor the wreckage of his place was ever found. My Uncle Bob was 23 years old.