Friend,
Veterans Day is an important time to honor those who served and remember the sacrifices they made. But on this Veterans Day, I think it’s important to recognize veterans not only for their service, but also for the lifelong commitment they have made to their fellow citizens.
Here in Northeast Wisconsin, we see it firsthand. We are blessed with an incredible community of veterans that has a strong tradition of looking out for one another and leaving this place a little better than how we found it.
The strength of this community has been particularly striking over the past few months. As you know, our country recently completed a catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan. I know this was an extremely challenging time for post-9/11 era veterans. Yet throughout this crisis, my office and I were inundated with requests from veterans willing to do whatever was necessary to support their fellow veterans and get our people home.
Whether it was organizing clothing drives for our Afghan allies or organizing private efforts to help get Americans out of Afghanistan, veterans throughout our community shined bright in one of our country's darkest times.
What I find truly remarkable about Veteran’s Day is how many stories I hear of veterans going above and beyond the call of duty back home. It's always impressive to see how seemingly commonplace these stories of veterans past and present are. There are heroes all around us who are willing to do what’s necessary to help one another. And it’s this commitment that helps keep our country the greatest in the history of the world.
Finally, for those veterans who may be questioning whether their sacrifice was worth it because of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, let me say this: it absolutely was. Because of your bravery and sacrifice, you kept this country safe for two decades. You held the line, and therefore you should hold your head high.
Semper Fi,
