All Americans Owe Thanks to Veterans
(November 12, 2010) |
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Vice President Joe Biden places a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns
during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 11,
2010.
DoD photo by Karen Parrish |
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2010 – Vice President Joe Biden honored
servicemembers and veterans at a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery
today, saying 100 percent of Americans owe their gratitude to the 1
percent who serve in the all-volunteer force.
“Collectively, the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who served and
sacrificed for us are the heart and soul, the very spine of this
nation,” Biden said to an audience full of servicmembers, veterans, and
government leaders, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, and
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki.
“As a nation, we pause today to thank more than
23 million surviving veterans who so bravely
protected our freedom,” he said. “You gave, and
they gave... .millions of you gave |
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service, limb, and sometimes life. In doing so, you imparted responsibility on
all of us, as well, to recognize, respect and honor, and to care for those who
risked their lives so that we can live ours.” |
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Biden, whose son, Beau, served in Iraq with the Delaware National Guard,
noted that the U.S. military is in its longest-ever period of sustained
combat from nine years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Of two million
who served in those conflicts, more than half have returned to civilian
life, more than 40,000 have been wounded – with 18,000 unable to return
to duty – and more than 5,700 were killed. More than 16,000 will need
medical care for the rest of their lives, he said.
“Only 1 percent of this nation is fighting these wars,” Biden said. “But
100 percent of America owes them a thank you; 100 percent of the nation
can, and must, do something to acknowledge what they've done for us and
continue to do this very moment for us.”
Biden noted the chilly November temperatures at Arlington, and recalled
being there on Memorial Day when the late May temperatures hit 91
degrees Fahrenheit. Those temperatures are nothing compared to the heat
World War II veterans endured in the Pacific islands, or that Vietnam
veterans felt in the Mekong Delta, or Iraq veterans coped with in
Fallujah when the thermometer soared to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, he said.
And the chill in the air today is nothing like the minus 20 degrees
Fahrenheit that veterans remember from Korea, or the frozen Argonne
Forest in France, or the snow-covered mountains of Afghanistan, he said.
Biden said he's seen firsthand how 10th Mountain Division soldiers scale
Afghanistan's snowy mountains with 60 pounds on their backs to fight al
Qaida.
“It absolutely blows me away to see what these kids – and they're not
kids – what these young men and women continue to do,” he said.
“I look out at all of you who served our nation, and all you who stood
by and waited while they served, and I see the most tested among us, the
most tested of all Americans, and the most honorable of men and women --
citizens who never feared the future and who are determined to build a
better future today,” the vice president said.
Biden said the thing he is asked most of the wounded warriors he visits
is if he can help them return to their unit.
“They're sending us a message,” he said, “but they're also sending the
enemy a message that our resolve in the face of the new threats we
confront will never, ever waiver because we have so many brave young men
and women of this generation. As the president has said, our spirit is
strong and it cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will
defeat you.”
The strength and resolve of servicemembers, veterans and their families
must be matched by the nation's support, Biden said. He added that the
Obama administration and Congress “are making historic investments in a
bipartisan way” to returning veterans through increased VA benefits.
The nation now and in the future must give veterans “every bit of the
care they've earned and deserve,” he said. “It's the only truly sacred
obligation we have as a government.” |
By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2010 |
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