Today, our nation pays tribute to those veterans, 25 million veterans who have worn the uniform of the United States of America. Each of these men and women took an oath to defend America -- and they upheld that oath with honor and decency. Through the generations, they have humbled dictators and liberated continents and set a standard of courage and idealism for the entire world. This year, 4 million veterans celebrate the 62nd anniversary of freedom's great victory in World War II. A handful of veterans who live among us in 2007 stood in uniform when World War I ended 89 years ago today. These men are more than a hundred years old, many of their lives have touched three different centuries, and they can all know that America will be proud of their service.
On Veterans Day, we also remember the troops who left America's shores but did not live to be thanked as veterans. On this Veterans Day, we honor the courage of those who were lost in the current struggle. We think of the families who lost a loved one; we pray for their comfort. And we remember the men and women in uniform whose fate is still undetermined -- our prisoners of war and those missing in action. America must never forget their courage.
All of America's veterans have placed the nation's security before their own lives. Their sacrifice creates a debt that America can never fully repay.
I will fly my flag high today to represent that I am part of a country; a country that has raised boys to men, girls to women, who have all taken an oath to die for their country if need be. I am proud to say that I am an American, the greatest Nation in the world.
On Veterans Day, we also remember the troops who left America's shores but did not live to be thanked as veterans. On this Veterans Day, we honor the courage of those who were lost in the current struggle. We think of the families who lost a loved one; we pray for their comfort. And we remember the men and women in uniform whose fate is still undetermined -- our prisoners of war and those missing in action. America must never forget their courage.
All of America's veterans have placed the nation's security before their own lives. Their sacrifice creates a debt that America can never fully repay.
I will fly my flag high today to represent that I am part of a country; a country that has raised boys to men, girls to women, who have all taken an oath to die for their country if need be. I am proud to say that I am an American, the greatest Nation in the world.
