It has become a welcome staple of many civic events on the Fourth of July to read the Declaration of Independence aloud. Events like that gather students, teachers, community leaders and others in a shared recitation of one of our nation’s essential documents.

This week, I came across one of the most poignant examples of this. In this video, watch as the document is read by military personnel stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. They include sailors, soldiers, a Marine, an airman, and a U.S. civilian contractor, all reading this year.

Happy Independence Day.