What follows is my speech from the 2017 Veterans Day Ceremony at Bent Winds Gold Course in Fuquay Varina, NC... It’s November 11th and you know what that means – that’s right, time to put up Christmas decorations. My wife has all the outside lights pulled out of storage and ready to go.
Ladies and gentlemen – I want
to thank Michael Dorman, Military Missions In Action, the Miss North Carolina
Association, Bent Winds Golf Course, the volunteers, sponsors and all of the Veterans
here in the audience. Thank you for
inviting me to speak to you today on what my children refer to as “Dad’s
holiday”.
I had a set of comments for
this occasion but CSM Retired Ziebarth stopped me and reminded me that you are
all about to play golf all day and that I should be brief, be brilliant, and be
gone. Then my wife, Lisa got a hold of
me and said I should talk about recent veteran’s issues. So with that in mind I am prepared to
disappoint both of you - here I go.
The world is a dangerous place. North Korea continues to develop weapons of
mass destruction, Violent Extremist Organizations spew hate and violence,
Russian aggression seeks to disrupt the order in Europe, and China continues to
refine its anti-access, area denial capabilities.
Yet despite these real and
contemporary issues there are three dangers in the military have been constant
for far longer than that – a Private with a rifle, a Lieutenant with a map, and
a full bird Colonel with a podium and a microphone.
This is 100th anniversary
of the America’s entry in The Great War. A century ago the United States
tectonically shifted from a strong regional power with the ability to influence
its national priorities around the Caribbean and Pacific to an emerging global
power with a place on the world stage.
Think about that - for the
first time Americans were going onto another’s sovereign soil at the desperate
need of its allies to end the stalemate of the Western Front. A fight where American existence was not at
stake but her allies was. 1917 to 1918 only
scratched the surface of America’s industrial and technological might – which
of course – awoke like that infamous “sleeping giant” a quarter of a century
later and secured our dominance to this day.
The Greatest Generation fought
back tyranny over two major powers and brought the Empire of Japan and Nazi
Germany to heel.
American’s then found itself
in Korea – the Forgotten War – a place where the drumbeats of war are getting
louder to this day.
A generation after World War
II, America fought in the jungles of Vietnam for ten years – with 56,000 lost
and untold forever scarred.
And now this generation – what
I refer to as the Greater Generation – a generation of Soldiers, Sailors,
Marines, and Airmen who have deployed to combat two, three, six times or more
over the last 16 years.
The American military is the
greatest military on the face of the earth – the most powerful, the most
educated, the most capable force since Alexander. Today it is built on a significant
concept. We are an all-volunteer
military. This is truly incredible when
you think about it. Since 1973 – and
highlighted by the FACT that we have been engaged in military-combat operations
since 2001 – America has met its security obligations with people who WANT to
serve. And even though there is less
than 1% of the American population serving in the military that still account
for over 2.4 million VOLUNTEERS in uniform today. Among those who comprise our force are the
men and women of all components of the military, Active Duty, Reserve, and
National Guard.
They are worthy of our praise,
they are worthy of our continued support after their service is over, and they
are worthy of recognition as vanguard of peace – because, in the words of
George Orwell - People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because
rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. To all of those Veterans
we say loudly – THANK YOU.
American Soldiers, Sailors,
Marines, and the Air Force provide us security 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week. But we cannot do it without
support. We need organizations like
Military Missions In Action - dedicated to assisting veterans, current members
of the armed forces and their families by engaging with the community,
businesses, and other organizations.
Organizations like MMIA – great or small - are the link for a lot of
veterans to connect with one another and back into their communities. It is because of the generosity of people
like you all here today that allows organizations to give back and say “thank
you” to veterans and their families.
And I know full well what that
looks like – as a Soldier who was deployed this year, Michael Dorman contacted
me to send care packages to my team of 13 in Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar. And boy oh boy did he follow through. When I went to the mail room they said, “hey,
Sir – you’re gonna need a truck” and I said, “you mean like a hand truck?” “No,
like a cargo truck” because MMIA send two HUGE boxes for every member of my
team. Each one filled with snacks,
toiletries, movies, cards, and a lot of gratitude. No doubt that was in part due to people like
you all here today. Support
organizations like MMIA really do matter
in the lives of the armed forces, and so it is my turn to say thank you.
In closing let me add this:
100 years ago Men sacrificed
in the trenches of France – praying for relief from the mud and the shells
75 years ago Men sacrificed on
the beaches in the Pacific – trying to pry a suicidal enemy out of the volcanic
rock in order to get closer to the home island of Japan
65 years ago Men sacrificed on
the frozen hilltops of Korea – fighting frostbite as hard as they fought Korean
and regular Chinese forces
50 years ago Women sacrificed
in the triage centers and hospitals in Vietnam – providing care, compassion,
and comfort to the dying and wounded
And
For the past 16 years, Men and
Women have sacrificed in Afghanistan and Iraq – stomping out radical violent
extremism in America’s longest running war
Every generation has sacrificed
its best for our peace and security – today we thank all of those – past and
present who have put on the uniform, raised their right hand, and defended this
great nation.
Thank you for coming out
today. Have a great event!
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