Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thank You


Thank you to all the veterans who have served our country. You are what makes this country truly great.
I would like to share these words from "Music and the Spoken Word".


"Across an ocean, there is a cemetery built for Allied soldiers who died in World War II. It includes a memorial with an inscription that captures the sentiment of those who fought: “For your tomorrow we gave our today.”

Similar words adorn a monument at Arlington National Cemetery, where others of our brave soldiers are laid to rest:

Not for fame or reward

Not for place or for rank

Not lured by ambition

Or goaded by necessity

But in simple

Obedience to duty

As they understood it

These men suffered all

Sacrificed all

Dared all—and died

The love of freedom and country inspires men and women to proudly don military uniforms and put their lives on the line. Brave soldiers representing every region, race, and religion of our diverse melting pot willingly sacrifice for their country. They all know the risk, but they do not let their fear overcome their mission. As former Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson once said, “[Those] who have offered their lives for their country know that patriotism is not the fear of something; it is the love of something.”

In 1938 the U.S. Congress passed a bill that each November 11 should be “dedicated to the cause of world peace and . . . thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’ ” In 1954, when the name was changed to Veterans Day, President Dwight Eisenhower, himself a veteran, called on citizens to observe the day by remembering the sacrifices of all war veterans and to rededicate ourselves as a nation “to the task of promoting an enduring peace.”

Today we honor such patriots by remembering them and the wars they fought and by cherishing the freedoms they upheld.

Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell

1 comment:

Catherine said...

Those Memorial inscriptions are Great! We owe them so much.

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