Happy Memorial Day!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to all the veterans who have served our country!

I am so grateful to the many in our family who have served in the armed forces, all the way back to the Revolutionary War! I am grateful to my four brothers: three in the infantry (including one as an Army Ranger and Green Beret) and one in the Navy! Among Chelsey’s brothers, two served in the Army and two in the Coast Guard. My uncle served in the Navy. My grandmother served in the Army during the Korean Conflict, and my grandfather served as a Navy pilot during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. My wife’s grandfathers—one served as a medical doctor in the Army, and the other as an Army Colonel during the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

I'll never forget my brother, State Representative David Clark, who is presently an Army Ranger and Green Beret, calling me from Afghanistan in 2009 when I was running for the State House. He told me that what I was doing was just as important as what he was doing because if this country fell apart, his comrade who lost his life would have died in vain. You see, my brother was supposed to be in the lead convoy that was attacked during his second week over there, but instead, 1st Sergeant Blair took his position and was killed. I vowed right then and there that I would never forget that public office is never about self-promotion or personal gain, but about preserving the freedom that soldiers like Blair gave their lives for. That story had a huge impact on how seriously I took each vote I cast in the Georgia House of Representatives.

May we as voters approach each election with that kind of seriousness. I pray we never forget that veterans gave their lives for our freedom; the least we can do is take time to cast an informed vote.

A huge, heartfelt thank you to all who have served across this country, and especially to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I will NEVER take for granted the freedoms for which others gave their lives.

Josh Clark