For many years, I have used saluted our veterans with words and poems that express our gratitude for their service. This year, I wanted to put those aside and talk to you myself. If you have worn the uniform of this country, there are some things I want you to hear directly from me, because I worry that we say “thank you for your service” so routinely that you may not always know how much is behind those words.
When I say them, I am thinking about the part of your life you gave to America. The years you could have spent somewhere else, doing something else, with people you loved. I am thinking about the young person who left home, perhaps frightened and trying hard not to show it, and stepped into a world where the demands were immediate and the responsibilities were enormous. Whether you volunteered or answered a draft notice, whether you made the military your career or served a single enlistment, those years belonged to your country. You don’t get them back, and we ought to appreciate what you put into them.
I make my living talking. Every week, I get behind a microphone and speak my mind, and anyone who has listened very long knows I exercise that privilege pretty freely. I can question decisions, criticize people in powerful positions, and tell you exactly what I think. That is a remarkable freedom, and I hope I never become so comfortable enjoying it that I forget the people who have stood ready to defend the country that guarantees it. You have a place in my everyday life even when I haven’t stopped to acknowledge it.
There is also a great deal about your service that I cannot know simply by shaking your hand. I don’t know what you missed at home, what you endured while you were away, or what you have carried since. Some of you enjoy telling stories about your military days, and some of you have things you have never discussed with anyone. You don’t owe the rest of us those stories. You have already given enough to deserve our respect without having to explain why.
I want to be sure the veterans who served during peacetime hear this, too. Your service counts. So does the work of those who maintained the equipment, prepared the meals, handled the supplies, treated the sick, and performed the thousands of jobs a military depends upon. You went where you were ordered and did work your country needed done. Nobody should have to pass somebody else’s test of what “real service” looks like to be included in our gratitude.
And to those who came home to indifference or outright hostility, I wish this country had done better by you. You deserved a welcome home that recognized what had been asked of you. We cannot go back and give you that moment, but we can take responsibility for how we treat you now. We can listen, keep our promises, and expect the care and benefits you earned to be delivered with competence and dignity.
Your families deserve a place in this thank-you as well. They lived with the empty chair, the changed plans, the worry, and the responsibility of keeping things going at home. Their love and sacrifice are woven into your service, and I am grateful to them.
This Veterans Day, I hope you get a phone call from someone who remembers. I hope someone asks how you are doing and has time to hear the answer. Most of all, I hope you feel appreciated by the people around you, including those of us who may struggle to find words big enough for what we want to say.
On behalf of my family and everyone at The Car Pro Show, thank you for the portion of your life you gave to this country. I love America, and I am deeply grateful to the men and women who have served her.
May God bless you and your families, watch over those serving today, and help the rest of us be worthy of the sacrifices made on our behalf.
- Jerry