To all my fellow Veterans, today is a day set aside for our nation to honor you. Unlike Memorial Day, when we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, this day honors the many other veterans who served with honor, but were able to return to their homes and their families. As the National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a unique group of Veterans, consisting solely of those who were wounded by the enemies of the United States on the battlefield or by an act of international terrorism, I take great pride in saluting the more than 22 million men and women who laid their lives on the line in loyal and valiant service to this great nation.
{mosads}This Veteran’s Day, I urge all Americans to pause and give thanks that you reside in the only nation in the world where you truly live free, enjoying the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Give thanks that throughout our nation’s history, starting with the Revolutionary War and continuing throughout the 241 years since, that your freedoms have been defended and protected by America’s brave sons and daughters, of whom more than 665,000 have given their lives, so that you might continue to enjoy the freedoms that many now take for granted. When you pass a man or woman today, wearing a hat that says “Veteran,” take a moment to shake their hand and say “Thank you for your service and sacrifice.” A Veteran is easy to spot in a crowd — they are the ones who stand with pride at attention, and place a patriotic hand over their heart as the flag passes by, the National Anthem plays, or a bugle sounds TAPS in the distance.
On each hour and each day throughout the year, we owe thanks to America’s Veterans for their service and sacrifice to this great Nation. But, we pause especially on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, now known as Veterans Day, to remember and give thanks to our Veterans — the brave men and women who have risked their lives on behalf of the United States of America. It was on that date and time in 1918 when World War I ended. In 1926, Congress designated this day as “Armistice Day,” to commemorate the end of the “war to end all wars.” Soon thereafter, however, war broke out again in Europe, drawing the U.S. into World War II. In 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming Nov.11 as “Veteran’s Day,” saying “…it is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom’s price. As we stand here in grateful remembrance of the veterans’ contributions we renew our conviction of individual responsibility to live in ways that support the eternal truths upon which our Nation is founded, and from which flows all its strength and all its greatness.”
This sense of gratitude towards those who have served in the Armed Forces certainly continues today, both in the hearts of the American people and in our public institutions. The Veterans Affairs Committees of both the House and Senate are widely regarded as the most bipartisan, and often most productive, in each of their respective chambers. Even when Democrats and Republicans seem to find agreement on little else, they are consistently able to defy party lines in order to support those brave men and women who have borne the battle. For that, we salute them.
President Reagan once said, “The blessings of liberty which our ancestors secured for us, and which we still enjoy, are ours only because, in each generation, there have been men and women willing to bear the hardships and sacrifices of serving in the military forces we need to preserve our freedom. These fine men and women have not sought glory for themselves, but peace and freedom for all. They exemplify the spirit that has preserved us as a great Nation, and they deserve our recognition for everything they have done. With a spirit of pride and gratitude, we honor and remember our veterans today.”
To my fellow Veterans I say, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice!”
Van Ess served in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970, and was assigned to Company C, 3/506th,101st Airborne Division. In 1968 he was deployed to Vietnam with the 101st and during a combat operation was wounded in August 1968, for which he received the Purple Heart Medal. In August, 2017, Van Ess was elected as National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.