Today is a very special day. It is the day we have set aside to remember all who have served our nation. Those who have sworn to "protect and defend" no matter the cost. It is the day to honor the men and women who have and still do wear the uniform of our military.
I am proud to be a veteran. I am proud to have served my country. I am prouder still of my brothers and sisters who have stood beside me and those who have gone before me and those generations that have followed in the very same footsteps.
As a veteran I believe I have earned the right to extend my thanks and appreciation to honor yet another group of veterans. They are family members. Wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and children who, in their own way, are veterans.
They don't march in any parade today. They simply stand and watch with pride as we do. They are not heralded as heroes by the many who speak today. They simply turn their eyes to us filled with love. Yet, in their own way they too are veterans. They endure a different type of hardship when we serve and when we deploy.
They may not be in harms way but they exhibit a courage everyday we are gone. As a veteran I can attest that each day we know what faces us. Those of us who have been in combat know how we are. Our family members can only hope we are okay. They don't know but they continue to go on as if they have no doubt everything is alright.
Those of us who have been in combat freely admit we face down a certain fear when we hear explosions or engage in a firefight or head into a place we may not walk away from. Our other "veterans" live with the fear of not knowing everyday. They hold their heads high and proud as they exclaim their loved one(s) is serving this country in uniform.
But they can be no prouder than those of us who have and do wear the uniform are of them. They are our rock and our reason for serving. They are the fabric that holds us together. While they cannot imagine hardships we endure, we cannot imagine the hardships our being gone has brought to them. Yet, like us, they carry on.
It has been this way since the very beginning of our great country. And it is certainly that way today.
My fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines I salute you and say thank you and tell you it is an honor to serve with you. To thank those who preceded me and those who have come after.
To those "other veterans" I thank you and stand tall as I salute you for your sacrifice and your strength that makes it possible for us to do the job we do everyday.
To my brothers and sisters in arms past and present: Thank you I am proud to have served with you.
To my "other veterans:" Thank you I am proud that you have helped me to serve.
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