ultimate sacrifice

plural ultimate sacrifices

1. Death for a cause or for one's country.

   Near-synonym: martyrdom

   2 more examples

   However, the selfsame individual may be called to serve in armed services in times of war, and be asked to make the ultimate sacrifice by giving up his life

   2000, Walter Prytulak, Paradise Regained: Prospects for a New Social Order in the Third Millennium

   The organizers sought to portray the bombers as "martyrs"—that is, as heroes prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of their people.

   2002, Joe Stork, Erased in a Moment: Suicide Bombing Attacks Against Israeli Civilians, page 16

   Synonyms: supreme sacrifice, last full measure, martyrdom