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On Memorial Day, "Live Free or Die"

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On Monday, May 30 New Hampshire pays tribute to the courage and sacrifice of our service men and women. 

Memorial day gives special meaning to New Hampshire's state motto, "Live Free or Die." 

New Hampshire did not adopt "Live Free or Die" as the state motto until May 1945, after over 1,200 New Hampshire casualties in World War II.  The motto was proposed by Manchester Representative and future House Speaker J. Walker Wiggin on behalf of the Manchester chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

According to a 1945 Nashua Telegraph article, Wiggin argued in favor of the motto because it "is a direct charge, one which has stood the test of the passing of time, and still has life and means something to every New Hampshire citizen, and will continue to do so in the future."

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