December 12, 1965

"Dear Mom,

...I am here because I have always wanted to be a Marine.... I don't like being over here, but I am doing a job that must be done... I am fighting to protect and maintain what I believe in and what I want to live in---a democratic society. If I am killed while carrying out this mission, I want no one to cry or mourn for me. I want people to...be proud of me for the job I did..."

Love,

Rick"

... be proud of me for the job I did..." -- a small thing to ask in exchange for extraordinary valor and bravery. For 81 years our Nation has honored this request and set aside a special day to pay tribute and say "thank you" to those who serve in our Armed Forces. On this Veterans' Day, November 11, 2002, Americans across the country will honor and remember their family members, friends, and neighbors who served in our Nation's military. No act of citizenship is more worthy of respect than service in our Armed Forces in order to protect and defend our ideals -- and because the tradition of the citizen soldier is deeply imbedded in our Nation's history, most Americans are privileged to have friends, family members, and colleagues whom they can personally thank, on this significant day, for their military service.

"... be proud of me for the job I did..." - Today solemn services of appreciation for, and remembrance of, those who fought in all of our Nation's wars will be held at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery and at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, at National Cemetery's across this nation and at parades. Since the birth of our Nation, American soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen have epitomized heroism, courage, and daring during wartime. Veterans' Day is a reminder to the rest of us of the sacrifices they have made on our behalf.

"... be proud of me for the job I did..." -- Veterans' Day is also an opportunity to recognize the challenges faced, and sacrifices made, by those who serve during what passes for peacetime in today's, and tomorrow's, ever-changing and unstable world. The patriotic and committed young men and women who serve in our All-Volunteer Force are among our best and our brightest. The Marine who, far from his loved ones, protects our embassy personnel in a distant country, the airman who, at great personal risk, continues to ensure the safety of the Kurds in Iraq while the threat of a war looms, the soldier who trains for weeks in the 110-degree heat of the Mojave desert, the sailor who keeps a lonely watch on the island of Diego Garcia in the middle of the Indian Ocean -- these volunteers have more than earned our respect and our thanks.

Ceremonies, speeches, displaying the flag, visiting a veterans' cemetery, spending time with a veteran in a hospital -- these are all wonderful ways to honor our veterans. As importantly, however, we must show our appreciation by exercising our most precious freedoms every day -- voting, worshipping, traveling where and when we want, expressing our opinions freely. Without our veterans, we would not enjoy these rights that we so often take for granted.

"... be proud of me for the job I did..." -- finally, I hope all of us will honor 19-year-old Rick, who died February 14, 1966, in Vietnam, and set aside a few moments on Veterans' Day, and every day, to remember him and the millions of servicemen and servicewomen like him -- not with sorrow or regret, but with pride in the job they did and with humble thanks that America nurtures such extraordinarily good and decent people.