To the men and women warriors of the United States Armed Forces,
On this special day of remembrance, from the safety of our homes, thanks to you, we pause to remember you and those before you, as you continue to give your lives to ensure the safety of the United States of America. Your unselfish sacrifices and acts of courage while in harm’s way, speaks of your love, patriotism, and loyalty to a country that puts freedom and those who fight for freedom as the highest calling here on earth.
Today, as we celebrate your heroism through the recognition by President Obama <http://www.whorunsgov.com/Profiles/Barack_Obama> as he presented a Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military award for valor, to an Army sergeant who ran into enemy fire to aid fellow soldiers during an ambush in eastern Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Salvatore A. Giunta became the first living service member to receive the honor for action during any war since Vietnam.
As the President called Staff Sgt. Giunta "a soldier as humble as he is heroic, "Giunta, symbolic of the all warriors said, "I would give this back in a second to have my friends with me right now." We are reminded through his eyes, his actions, and his words of your daily trials, concerns, and core beliefs. We are reminded how fragile your lives are and how much each of you performs heroic deeds every day. We are reminded of your love of life and your compassion for others as he proclaimed that as a mediocre solider if he received the Medal of Honor can you imagine what our extraordinary warriors deserve.
And yet, we can do more than just thank you or remember you; we can continue to remember your dedication, commitment, integrity, and love of country. We can remember that you, too, have personal families in addition to those that you serve with. We can remember that you have earned the respect of a nation through your personal actions and not unsupported words. We can remember to say a kind word each time we pass a warrior in uniform. We can remember that we, as a country, owe you a “returned’ life, a meaningful and worthy job, and a health system that must provide you with unabated care; a care that is equally tied to your unabated service away from home. We can remember that your children live with a ‘fear’ that we will never know, but one that we must understand and soothe. We can remember that we have a responsibility to ensure that your children are taken care of, understood, and educated along as our own while you are away protecting us. We can remember that we, too, have a mission and that is to care for your families until you come home.
So on this day, I say thank you to the warriors of the United States Armed Forces that I met during JCOC 79; National Security Forum 2010; 482 Fighter Wing, Homestead Air Reserve Base; the Golden Knights, and USSOCOM, SOCSO. And we as a nation offer you our heats and an equal dedication as we pray that the Lord will keep you in his countenance, grant you peace, and bring you home safely. May God bless you all.
Larry Feldman
JCOC 79 – NSF 2010
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