Praising the new generation for their willingness to serve their country today despite the likelihood of combat and the dangers associated with the War on Terror, keynote speaker Lt. Colonel Matthew T. Colvard said they are doing their legacy proud during Memorial Day ceremonies Monday at Warren County Memorial Airport.“Today young people sign up knowing they will be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan,” Colvard said of the bravery its takes to enlist when hazardous duty is nearly a certainty in today’s military.Colvard pointed out that unlike many of America’s earlier wars where people were drafted into service, the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan are being fought exclusively by volunteer soldiers. Colvard also pointed out the wars are being waged by fewer numbers. Specifically, he said that in World War II, about 14 percent of the country’s population was involved in combat while today about two percent of the population is involved in the military.As did generations of the past, the lieutenant colonel stated, young soldiers of today sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice.“Many are required to give that last full measure, like Jeremy Brown,” Colvard said, referring to the Warren County native who was killed in combat in Afghanistan, his name recently added to the monument of Warren County’s war dead.Colvard noted it is the supreme sacrifice that proves today’s volunteers are made of the same metal as those who fought in earlier wars.“Generation X, Generation Y or the Pepsi Generation, they are all serving just as proudly as their grandfathers did in the Greatest Generation,” Colvard said, concluding his address for those on hand Monday morning.