Veterans Day Messages From Across The Nation
There are so many different messages I have come across, that I decided to gather them all together under one heading. Then you can pick and choose or read all of them if you wish. There is no special order.
Bush Salutes Troops' Sacrifice, Service
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2008 – President
Bush issued a proclamation to honor all who are serving or have served
in the U.S. armed forces.
Bush issued his Veterans Day proclamation Oct. 31.
The proclamation reads:
“On
Veterans Day, we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the men
and women who in defense of our freedom have bravely worn the uniform
of the United States.
“From the fields and forests of war-torn
Europe to the jungles of Southeast Asia, from the deserts of Iraq to
the mountains of Afghanistan, brave patriots have protected our
nation's ideals, rescued millions from tyranny and helped spread
freedom around the globe. America’s veterans answered the call when
asked to protect our nation from some of the most brutal and ruthless
tyrants, terrorists and militaries the world has ever known. They stood
tall in the face of grave danger and enabled our nation to become the
greatest force for freedom in human history. Members of the Army, Navy,
Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard have answered a high calling to
serve and have helped secure America at every turn.
“Our country
is forever indebted to our veterans for their quiet courage and
exemplary service. We also remember and honor those who laid down their
lives in freedom's defense. These brave men and women made the ultimate
sacrifice for our benefit. On Veterans Day, we remember these heroes
for their valor, their loyalty and their dedication. Their selfless
sacrifices continue to inspire us today as we work to advance peace and
extend freedom around the world.
“With respect for and in
recognition of the contributions our service members have made to the
cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided
that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public
holiday to honor America's veterans.
“Now, therefore, I, George
W. Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim
November 11, 2008, as Veterans Day and urge all Americans to observe
November 9 through November 15, 2008, as National Veterans Awareness
Week. I encourage all Americans to recognize the bravery and sacrifice
of our veterans through ceremonies and prayers. I call upon federal,
state, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and
to support and participate in patriotic activities in their
communities. I invite civic and fraternal organizations, places of
worship, schools, businesses, unions and the media to support this
national observance with commemorative expressions and programs.
The
roar of nearly 1,200 motorcycle engines split the morning air at Fort
Hood, Texas, as soldiers and civilians in the “Phantom Thunder”
motorcycle safety event started their ride to a veterans cemetery in
Killeen to honor America's fallen. Story|Photos
Cemetery Honors Veterans of Eight Wars
The North Dakota Veterans Cemetery was built only 16 years ago by the state's National Guard, but the heroes entombed there date back to the country's earliest battles. Story
VA Secretary: America Keeps Lincoln's Promise to Veterans
As he prepares to observe his first Veterans Day as Veterans Affairs secretary, Dr. James B. Peake said he believes the United States is living up to Abraham Lincoln’s pledge to care for “him who has borne the battle, and his widow and his orphan.” Story
Gates' Message Emphasizes Warrior Care
“On Veterans Day we pay tribute to
those who have fought for our country from its earliest days to the
present. This day reminds us of how important it is that the men and
women who wear this country’s uniform know how grateful their fellow
Americans are for that service.
“The holiday’s birthplace is
my home state of Kansas. Over half a century ago, a shoe store owner in
Emporia named Al King promoted the idea of changing what had been
Armistice Day – honoring veterans of the First World War – into a
celebration of veterans of every conflict, and every era. Story
Veterans Affairs Secretary Notes Progress
“Ninety years ago today, the guns fell
silent in Europe. World War I – the “war to end all wars” – was over.
Almost five million Americans served during that first modern,
mechanized war. Our last living link with them, 107-year-old Army
veteran Frank Buckles, observes this Veterans Day at his farm in West
Virginia.
“It is important, on Veterans Day, for all Americans
to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our veterans, from Mr.
Buckles to the men and women who recently fought for us in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Their bravery, their resourcefulness, and their patriotism
mark them as our nation’s finest citizens." Story
Mullen Cites History in Message to Vets
“When Armistice was declared on November
11, 1918, effectively ending World War I, over sixty-five million
individuals had been mobilized for the “Great War” that resulted in
almost nine million deaths and over twenty-one million wounded. In just
a year and a half of operations, 126,000 Americans lost their lives on
the muddy landscapes of Europe and in the icy depths of the North
Atlantic. Such loss of life and limb is hard to fathom today.
“History
has debunked the notion of a ‘War to End All Wars.’ And history has
also proven that peace does not preserve itself. It requires millions
of dedicated men and women – like you and your families – all working
in unison toward what one memorial hails as ‘high idealism, courageous
sacrifice, and gallant achievement.’ Story
U.S. Veterans Cite Importance of Honoring Military Service
“Being a part of that long line of history
is something that I am particularly proud of, as I observe each
Veterans Day and each Memorial Day,” said Vaught, a long-time advocate
for military women and the president of the Women in Military Service
for America Memorial in Arlington, Va.
“I am for women serving
wherever they can,” said Vaught, who served in Vietnam in the late
1960s. After 28 years of service, Vaught retired from the Air Force in
1985 as one of America’s most highly-decorated military women. Story
Be proud of past, present veteran heroes
by Lt. Gen. Gary North
Commander, 9th Air Force and U.S. Air Forces Central
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- Each Nov.
11, the United States observes Veterans Day to pay tribute to those men
and women who have served and continue to serve our nation through
military service.
America's veterans are honored for their patriotism, love of country,
and willingness to serve and sacrifice on behalf of their nation. We
celebrate the accomplishments of millions of brave Soldiers, Sailors,
Marines, Airmen and Coastguardsmen who served valiantly in wars and
conflicts during the 232-year history of our country. Story
Veteran’s day naturalization ceremony
by Spc. Scott Davis
CJTF-101 ABN DIV PAO
11/11/2008 - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- This
Veterans Day was like no other for 77 service members who took the oath
of allegiance and officially became U.S. citizens while deployed to
Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, William
Wood attended the naturalization ceremony as the guest speaker, along
with Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, the commanding general for Combined
Joint Task Force-101 and Regional Command-East commander.
"For some of you, it probably seems like it was just yesterday when you
raised your right hand and said that you would support and defend the
constitution of the United States and serve in the Armed Forces," said
Schloesser. "Today, you are going to raise your hand again and become a
citizen of the country of that constitution." Story
U.S.
Africa Command Veterans Day Message
USAFRICOM Team,
Veterans Day is a time when we Americans honor those who have exhibited
selfless service and sacrifice for our Nation and our way of life. This
holiday is traditionally associated with the military due to its
origins as the commemoration of the end of World War I; but especially
in... (Full Story)
VETERANS DAY - JAMES T. CONWAY, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS
ON 11 NOVEMBER 1918, AN ARMISTICE WAS SIGNED THAT EFFECTIVELY ENDED THE FIRST WORLD WAR AFTER FOUR YEARS OF GLOBAL CONFLICT. ONE YEAR LATER, ON 11 NOVEMBER 1919, PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON ISSUED A PROCLAMATION TO COMMEMORATE THE HISTORIC EVENT, AND CALLED UPON ALL AMERICANS TO OBSERVE "ARMISTICE DAY" BY TAKING "SOLEMN PRIDE IN THE HEROISM OF THOSE WHO DIED IN THE COUNTRY'S SERVICE." Story
My personal "Thanks for a job well done!" to all currently serving and those who served in the past on this Veterans Day! MsMarti
Copyright 2008 MsMarti. All rights reserved.
Stumble It!
On the 11th Day of the 11th month each year, Americans come together to honor those in uniform, the ones who sacrificed for our nation, on Veterans Day. As a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan, War on Terror, I urge everyone to take this day to not just thank a veteran, but to talk with veterans. Learn about how our experiences have shaped our lives and what issues we face as we make our transitions back to civilian life. I would like to explain my side of the story, my own experience.
When I joined the military I was a young, confused kid, who did not know much about life, due to being sheltered for most of my life by my over protective parents. I did not know much about the war, just that I was enraged at the hatred those terrorists had for all Americans and me. I wanted to help my country, to protect it at all cost, even giving up my life to do so. It may sound funny but when I initially tried to enlist in the military, I was to be a military post-man, but the job had already been taken. Since I am color-blind, I wasn’t able to have a range of opportunities in the military. My placement was therefore in Mortuary Affairs Specialist. I felt that I grew up quicker in my years in service than most people do in their whole lifetime.
I was nineteen years old on February 8th, 2002. It was kind of cold for Phoenix as I reached the Airport headed to Fort Jackson, in South Carolina for basic training. Upon reaching Fort Jackson, referred by some in the service as relaxant Jackson, I found that the life I had chosen would not be as easy as I thought. Those first couple of days I got a hair cut, issued uniforms, and learned the waiting line for training was long. During this time, since 9/11, there was a mass influx of new recruits; the Army had problems finding them units to train in. For me I was lucky kind of, since I had a school date that did not come around very often, they tried to offer me another job, but I turn them down, I was shipped from Fort Jackson, then to Fort Lenderwood Missionary. The Ozark Mountains are cold and during winter, it was unbearable. It was an extreme change for me because I was mostly familiar with the hot weather in Phoenix, AZ. Exercising and running in extreme weather with being out shape was horrible. There was no special treatment for anyone but the drill sergeants made me work twice as hard. The treatment I received was something similar to a movie, where the fat kid got picked on and abused, but it was some thing I needed in order to become who I need to be. Despite this, I worked hard, did everything I was ordered to do, and eventually I graduated from boot camp with a new physique. During graduation, my fellow recruits honored me with “The Most Changed Person” reward, the Order of the Dragoon.
I was off to my next challenge, training for my MOS. When I reached Fort Lee, Virginia, I missed my start date and had to wait for the next one. This meant that I couldn’t get a pass to go anywhere; I had to just sit at the barracks, clean the floors, and do KP duty. After awhile this routine got incommodious. I was so happy on Memorial Day 2002, because the next day I was scheduled to start school. Then all of a sudden, I had horrible stomach pains, and could not figure what it was. So I was sent me off to the ER, the doctors initially diagnosed appendix problems. The one-hour surgery was then scheduled immediately, however it took five hours to complete. Apparently, my appendix had been ruptured for over a month including basic training. The surgeons said I am so lucky to be alive. I got a month off to recover and relax. When I got back to Fort Lee, I had to wait another month for class, so eventually when I got to school; I did my best to learn about my job and almost graduated at the top of my class. The reason why I did not graduate at the top of my class was due to my stomach muscles not fully recovering, which made doing sit-ups very hard. I did it because I wanted to join my unit at Fort Lee.
My feelings of excitement and wanting to serve were still in tact even after months of prolong waiting and recovery. In order to be all that I could be, to be the best, I exceed my own abilities by 120%. The mindset I had, came a long way (physically from Phoenix and mentally from the first story I heard about the terrorist attacks), I had really changed for the better. In the first year, I received my first (minor) medal, the Army Achievement Medal. With this acknowledgement from the Army, I wanted to speed up my deployment overseas to Afghanistan, but that wasn’t going to happen until March 18th 2003. According to orders, my team that I was assigned to from my unit wasn’t schedule to arrive in Iraq first. Instead, I worked in the Theater Mortuary Affairs Evacuation Point, a place that went nonstop for the first three months.
Sleep was limited to when I did not hear a helicopter, and when body’s slowed down coming in. In the states I had worked at the Richmond Morgue, but war was different. Instead of just seeing some one you did not know in the states, in Kuwait you learn to know every one, due to them wearing the same uniform, and inventorying all their personal effects, you knew who they wear when they left. Not only was our job to process Americans, but we also helped process British, and any other Allies. During this time I saw the mistakes we made, such as shooting British helicopter down with Sam missiles, and killing Brazilin journalist when we hit the wrong building, during that time I saw the horrors that mankind was possible of. I start experiences, problems, and tried to seek medical help, but I was deferred and told I would be fine. My excitement had come to an end, and I start to get in trouble, pretty soon my 1st Sgt, thought that I was not experiencing enough of the war, so he sent me to the Iraq, Camp Alsad. In Camp Alsad, was slow, but became difficult. Some of the soldiers I ate with at the chow hall, and knew were head on a rest and relaxation mission, but instead of making it, their helicopter was shot down. My team had to go clean the site, recover the bodies, and inventory their belongings. Man life is tough, but even tougher if you know the people. There were two other tough missions. The first were, when three Special Forces soldiers had been killed, when they were given orders not to shoot into a crowd even if they were receiving fire, not only did we have to process their bodies, but we also had to process the bodies of the people who had killed them. We are mortuary affairs first, and as such we have a moral obligation not to look at uniform, or lack of one, but to look at the person and understand their journey had come to a end, and it was our job to treat them with respect because every one has family and friends that care for them, it was not are job to judge right or wrong, which is very hard. The second tough mission was when we went with a convoy head to a site, that they had reportedly killed Sadam Husain, but in fact the compound was filled with animals and women and children. I do not think the Air Force meant to kill them, they were trying to do there job in following cell phone singles, and when they split, they went after the most likely target. On this mission two things had happened. One back in Alsad I was having bad night terrors, but the person in charge of my team figured the answer was not sending me back, but instead was to put me on night duty, and to change the location I slept on, in the location I was, this almost spelled disaster for me and my friend, when I woke up and started to scream at the top of my lungs, the people sleeping around the truck react and were about to shoot in the back of the truck, when my Sgt yelled stop he is just dreaming, oh thank god. The second thing is as I stated before, we are trained to respect the dead, and their belongings. This did not transfer to the people there, instead they were ordered to bury everything, destroy all evidence and move on. That pretty much covers Iraq.
When I got back to the states, I faced many hardships under the care of the Army. I am like millions of other veterans dealing with mental and physical scars of war. Most Americans will never know about these issues because it is not covered in the news or articles. The Army has become a two-sided issue for me; it was once a place where I wanted to succeed at being a great solider and fight for our rights and our country. Now that I came home I am still fighting another battle, however, this fight, I fight alone. I am trying to cope with sudden flashbacks, traumatizing combat events, hyper-vigilance to the recurrence of danger, feelings of numbness, low self-esteem, rage, and lapses in concentration. All of these have caused me to descend in my quality of life. I thought the Army and my unit would continue to care for me, treat me as a fellow solider, and assist me with finding resources for coping and healing. However, this was not the case, my unit classified me as a troublemaker, an unfit solider. As a result, they discharged me out of the Army abruptly without taking responsibility for the causes of my PTSD illnesses. Like other soldiers, I tried to reach out for help but once the system failed, I tried to commit suicide twice during my service. Luckily, both times, one of my few friends stopped me. This incident put me in a mental hospital involuntarily, where they doped me up on strong medicines, and no one cared to seek the reasons behind the action. I wasn’t allowed to receive my care at the Army hospital, because if procedures were followed, there would have been a long investigation and no one wanted to take the time to take care of their wounded soldiers with PTSD. Instead, I was discharged immediately with personality disorder. This seems to be the common practice for the Army, not just in my case but also 20,000 other veterans. At 5 P.M. September 16, 2004, my last official orders from the Army were, TO GET OUT!! Heavily medicated, I received my car keys, and was told to drive over 5000 miles, all the way home to Phoenix, Arizona. My feelings that proscribed afterwards are indescribable.
Even though I am still in my own body, this whole experience has shaped my life. Following my physical return home to Phoenix, AZ, I, however, didn’t return home with my state of mentality. My homecoming wasn’t what I imagined, that is because it was based on tv and movies I’ve seen about returning soldiers as hero’s. I became hospitalized time and time again.
Don’t worry, my story gets better and does have a great beginning. This new chapter in my life begins with the chance meeting the love of my life, my wife. With her continued support, I am able to handle some things on my own. A great support system, love, understanding, and patience, is what I think all soldiers should have and receive upon their return home. After all, the important issue is that we are all humans! With the good and the bad, we will always have our memories.
So on this Veterans Day and every day the best way to honor our veterans is to connect with them. So please remember and honor our fellow humans, our veterans. Without recognition from our family and friends, it doesn’t seem like all of our efforts make a difference. Many of us new veterans are being left behind, we have honored you by defending your rights, and all we ask is to welcome us home.
Sincerely,
Joshua C. Poulsen
Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran
Posted by: Joshua Poulsen | Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 21:58