Thanks in advance to all of you who are becoming veterans, whether you come back to a great life and welcoming arms, or a hostile environment and a life full of challenges.
Thanks in advance to all veterans for continuing your fight for freedom here at home, throughout your life. Your enemies are ignorance and wishful thinking, both of those who mean well and of those who disrespect you. However, the enemy is not the ignorant, deluded individuals themselves. Your weapons of choice will be your intelligence, your self-discipline, your experience, your courage, and your determination.
Thanks is advance to the patriotic veterans who commit to life-long study of the Constitution and Bill of Rights for which they fought. You took an Oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" and to "bear true faith and allegiance to the same." By your Honor, you remain bound by that Oath. Do not permit the nation to bend to the current whim of the majority, or to the pressures of conformity with foreign powers. Stand firmly against infringement of any one of the Amendments forming the Bill of Rights. Understand that the Constitutional Right to Free Expression permits irate protests, political rough-housing, open contention, "politically-incorrect" or hateful speech, and hostile debate. Even Flag burning is permitted, because it provides a non-violent outlet for expression of displeasure with our government.
Thanks in advance to veteran students who continue their your education - the nation needs you as leaders in every field. As in the military, you can lead by example. Even if you weren't the best in your unit, returning to civilian life offers you a new opportunity to excel.
Thanks in advance to every veteran who will struggle, in the years ahead, to catch up, in income, education, seniority, professional development, and career advancement, to those who chose to stay safe. Your service and dedication will be acknowledged and praised on occasion, but the cheers are short-lived and hollow.
Thanks in advance to the disabled veterans who will struggle to get needed treatment from the VA, because the "liberal" Congress finds ways to divert funds to dozens of general budget social programs not including disabled veterans. As bewildering and confusing as the bureacracy of the Department of Veterans Affairs may appear, understand that most DVA personnel are truly concerned for your well-being. They may appear frustrated because they do not have the resources to help you. Somehow, feeding, housing, and treating undocumented aliens and their children are more important to Congress, even if the pols insist that your demonstrated commitment puts you at the "head of the line."
Thanks in advance to the aging veterans who, as time goes on, find it increasingly difficult to remain employed, pay for their medications, and meet their daily needs, their transportation, and their housing. As time goes on, the memory of your contribution will fade, as will its perceived value to the public. Your fellow veterans will never forget.
Thanks in advance to the incapacitated veterans suffering from psychological scars impeding their ability to work or function in daily society - many of you are the homeless. Although you struggle to function as the rest of our society, you are relegated to the level of an outcast in the Third World. Many of your fellow vets see this outrage for what it is. Understand that alcoholism and drug dependence frequently arise from untreated depression or other underlying illness. You are not a bad person because you are homeless and in distress, "just" forgotten. Your local aldermen, councilmen, assemblymen, sheriffs, executives, mayors, and governors, bear at least as much responsibility for your homelessness and distress as does any federal agency. Understand that you will become a burden to local and state governments, some including veterans, who will rush to push you back into the hands of the federal government, even as they acknowledge that your efforts kept their city, township, counties, and states free and safe.
Thanks in advance to every living veteran, whether you served in a named conflict or not. Feel free to remind your detractors that your sacrifice allows them to continue to malign this Nation, making this the greatest of Nations.
Thanks in advance to the veterans who are no longer with us. Freedom and progress are ongoing processes. Your legacy prevented our enemies from disrupting this great Constitutional Republic, and allows the living to have the opportunity to increase freedoms and advance progress for all American citizens.