Veterans Day message

[SARLDO 0]

I thought it appropriate to pass this along here as many of you are Military, active and former. Although it is from SECNAV, it applies to all services.

[Quote]

One day each year is set aside to specially recognize the service and sacrifice of the more than 23 million living American veterans who have defended the United States at home and abroad.

Although one day is wholly inadequate to honor those who have given so much of themselves, Veterans Day is a symbol of the enormous debt we owe to our veterans. First celebrated in 1919 as a commemoration of Armistice Day and the end of the First World War, Veterans Day has become an enduring memorial to our forebears and their service. On this day, we honor those who established the legacy of the United States military as the finest military force in the world. We remember the rich tradition of the uniform, full of honor, heroism, and sacrifice. And we reflect on the navy and marine corps battles stretching back across the years, battles fought in Belleau Wood and from Scapa Flow, through Midway and Tarawa, Chosin and Inchon, hue city, Khafji, and Fallujah, to Baghdad and Helmand today.

Our veterans represent the best of America. Men and women from every race and creed, they have constantly preserved the blessings of liberty that we now enjoy. We honor their service, and we honor you who carry on the tradition and continue to defend our nation.

Thank you for your service, Godspeed.

-- Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy.

"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest" ~Samuel Clemens

MB#4300
Dudeist Skydiver #68

[Beerlight 0]

To all the veterans and those on active duty, thank you!

And a quotation from Winston Churchill worth reflecting on: "We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." And so, to all who have served us, then, now, and in the future, a word of somber thanks, from those of us here at home.