Veterans, others reflect on fallen soldiers this Memorial Day Sarah Hirt looks for her uncle Mikal Sullivan's name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial after a Memorial Day Service Monday morning at Veterans Parkway next to the Neville Public Museum, Green Bay (photo by Tina Gohr). By Sarah Wyatt Associated Press Writer MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin's veterans and civilians spent the first Memorial Day since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks honoring people killed in the line of duty and serving in the war against terrorism, and civilians killed in the attacks. "Peace, we learned 8 months ago, is a fragile state," said Wisconsin Air National Guard Brigadier General Albert Wilkening during a Memorial Day service in Madison. There are 830 Wisconsin members of the Air and Army National Guard on active duty, he said. The nation should not only honor the bravery of its soldiers but also everyday heroes like Todd Beamer, the New Jersey man aboard hijacked United Flight 93 who fought back against the plane's kidnappers before it crashed in a Pennsylvania field, Wilkening said. "Liberty is guaranteed only by those who are willing to defend it, and sometimes by those who are willing to die for it," he said. Almost 1 million Wisconsin residents have served in the Armed Forces during wartime, and more than 26,000 never returned, Wilkening said. More than 1 million Americans have died in the line of duty. "The men and woman we honor today are no longer with us physically, but they will always be with us spiritually," said state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison, who served during World War II. It is particularly important to remember veterans of the Korean War on the 50th anniversary of the conflict, commonly known as the "Forgotten War," Risser said. The Madison service at the State Capitol Monday included a reading of President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a concert by the VFW Band, and a rifle salute by the Madison Veterans Firing Squad. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Raymond Boland said veterans and soldiers share common experiences from serving in the military - whether they are serving now in Operation Enduring Freedom or served 50 years ago in the Korean War. Many state and federal benefits are available for Wisconsin's veterans, but the hard part can be getting veterans to apply for them, Boland said. Almost 500,000 veterans live in Wisconsin, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. About 7.9 percent of veterans in Wisconsin received compensation in 2001, compared to the national average of 8.9 percent, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. "It's an issue of pride" for many veterans, Boland said. In addition to ceremonies in Madison and at veterans cemeteries in Union Grove and Spooner, Gov. Scott McCallum was attending a ceremony in Neenah, where a new cemetery monument was erected to honor state residents killed during wartime, Boland said. On the Net: Wisconsin Dept. of Veterans Affairs: http://dva.state.wi.us.