Labor Day is more than a day for cookouts and beers. Too often, Americans forget to honor the true meaning of the holiday. The truth is, Labor Day is a solemn reminder of all the troops who have spent their entire military careers on working parties.

Since 1776, soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in our brave nation have answered the call of duty during times of war, only to find themselves scrubbing mold off the walls of the latrine, or digging dozens of holes in rocky soil only to fill them back in again as soon as they’re finished.

While data on working parties wasn’t formally collected until World War II, it is estimated that over 30 million Americans have spent their entire military careers on a working party since the country’s founding. In the Civil War alone, more than 1.5 million young Americans served the Union on working parties without ever seeing combat.