On this Veterans Day....

When then-Governor Ronald Reagan introduced a returning prisoner of war named John McCain at a speaking engagement in 1974, the future president asked: “Where do we find such men?”He was speaking of many veterans when he answered, “We find them in our streets, in the office, the shops and the working places of our country and on the farms.” In other words, Reagan was referring to ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. And it isn’t just the men. Army Spc. Monica Brown was still a teenager when she went on a routine patrol as a medic in Afghanistan in 2007. Caught under insurgent fire in Paktika Province, she and her platoon sergeant ran a few hundred yards toward a burning Humvee. Dodging rounds by only inches, Brown helped pull injured soldiers from the vehicle and rendered life-saving first aid. For her actions, she was awarded a Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest combat decoration. When she enlisted at age 17, the native of Lake Jackson, Texas, had hopes of becoming an X-ray technician, but the Army convinced her that being a medic would offer her the greatest opportunity to help her fellow soldiers. But to credit the Monica Browns and other brave heroes in our military with helping only their comrades is short-sighted. They are helping us. It is America, not America’s military, that al-Qaida and other terrorists have declared war on. Fewer than 10 percent of Americans can claim the title “military veteran,” and what a list of accomplishments can those 10 percent claim. From defeating communism, fascism and imperialism, to keeping the peace during the Cold War and battling terrorism today, America owes a debt to her veterans that can never be fully repaid.

Can any CEO or distinguished college graduate truly claim to have more responsibility than a 20-year-old squad leader walking a patrol in Afghanistan or Iraq? While a successful real estate mogul may have sold hundreds of homes and raised a wonderful family, what single accomplishment tops the decisive actions a service person took during a siege during the Vietnam War, which saved the lives of several of his fellow Marines?

These extraordinary people, these 10% of Americans, fight not just for the safety of their family & loved ones, the fight for people like you & me they might never meet. We live in a safe, nice fantasy world(and I thank god I have a job that lets me do this). Our Service men & women and these veterans are and have fought in the real world ( a world I know I could not survive in).

So on this 11th Day of this 11th Month known as Veteran's Day may I take the time to say to our Armed Forces Personnel, Our Veterans, and their Families---THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!--for doing what few have done to help so many. Please today and everyday you see a Service Person or Veteran--thank them for what they do and have done for us.

God Bless America and God Bless our Veterans & Armed Forces!!!

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