To Our Nation’s Veterans: Thank You!

Nov 11, 2009

Today, November 11, is a special day. It is the day that our nation sets aside to honor America’s military veterans, the brave men and women who have answered their nation’s call to service. From the battlefields of the Revolutionary War to the present day battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, America’s fighting men and women have proven that they will always be there when their country needs them. They are an unflinching force for good, refusing to yield even though they know that they may be called upon to sacrifice their very lives on behalf of us all.

Veteran’s Day, 2009 carries with it additional significance for the members of my generation. It was nearly 20 years ago to the day (November 9, 1989) that the “Cold War” conflict between the democratic West and the communist East was brought to a sudden climax with the fall of the Berlin Wall. This conflict, which began in the closing days of World War II, is perhaps the defining conflict for those of us who came of age in the years after Vietnam. It was an existential conflict, pitting the principles of freedom and democracy that we so cherish against an expansionist, totalitarian, communist ideology armed with nuclear weapons.  I still remember seeking shelter under my desk during my school’s “nuclear drills.” Because we in the West won this conflict, my children, and yours, no longer have to do this.

But make no mistake: without the strength and resolve of the freedom loving peoples of the Western nations, primarily supported, as always seems to be the case, through America’s military might, this conflict might well have ended differently. When President Ronald Reagan demanded of Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev that he “tear down this wall!” it was only through the strength and readiness of members of the American military that his call to action was credible. Our victory in this conflict illustrates, yet again, how much we owe to the veterans whose determined vigilance defeated an opponent bent on destroying the freedoms we all too often take for granted.

All Americans owe a debt of gratitude to our veterans for their service to the nation. It is through their willingness to defend this country, and to protect our rights, that the freedoms we have long enjoyed are secured. On this solemn day of remembrance, I hope that you will join with me in saying “Thank you!” to all the members of the American military, both present and former, for the sacrifices they have made, and will continue to make, in the defense of this great country and the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness upon which it was founded.

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