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Commander McPherson, General Wallace, Vice Mayor Allen, and other elected officials and of course members, families and friends of the Braxton Perkins American Legion Post 25 – the oldest American Legion Post in the Hampton Roads area.
Each Memorial Day the American Legion gathers here at the historic Victory arch to join in this nation’s remembrance of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, as well as civilians, who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our country. Every year since 1868, when Lt General John A. Logan signed General Order 11, we have honored those who fought and died to protect and defend our freedoms. We honor those fallen veterans from the days of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and now the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. We also remember those fallen peacekeepers and defenders of freedom who gave their lives in Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo. We must also continue to pay tribute to our Prisoners of War and to the countless numbers of those Missing in Action. By honoring them, we also honor all of those who have served and those who are presently serving, and also recognize the significant sacrifice of the families of our service men and women.
Memorial Day is also a time to remember all Americans who gave their lives in service of their country. So today it is also appropriate to recognize our other soldiers in uniform – our police officers, our fire fighters, our emergency medical technicians, the search, rescue and recovery squads and the countless civilian volunteers – who responded on September 11th and in the days since then. They too are our protection, and they too have found the courage to answer the call to defend our nation.
The Post-9/11 world has presented stark new challenges to our all-volunteer military. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have required many of our men and women in uniform to serve multiple and extended tours of duty. These men and women, on active duty and in the National Guard and Reserves, took it upon themselves to enlist in the Armed Forces out of love for our nation and the strong sense and desire to protect and defend it just as those who came before them. They have been pulled away from college, their jobs and their families. We owe these men and women a tremendous debt of gratitude for their sacrifices and that is why both the House and the Senate recently passed the 21st Century G.I. Bill as a part of the Iraq War Supplemental Spending Bill. The House and the Senate will have to work out some minor differences between each chamber’s war spending bill after Memorial Day recess, but, when enacted, the 21st Century G.I. Bill will be the largest expansion of educational benefits for veterans since World War II.
The 21st Century G.I. Bill, introduced in the Senate by Vietnam Veterans Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel and World War II Veteran John Warner and in the House by myself and a bi-partisan group of members, will provide our men and women in uniform the full cost of a four year public college or university. The 21st Century G.I. Bill will make military service more attractive as we work to rebuild our military. It will also give our troops returning home the tools they need to succeed and readjust after military service, while at the same time strengthening our economy in the face of increasing global competition. The bill has the support of every major veteran’s service organization in the country, including the American Legion.
In addition to strengthening the G.I. Bill, Congress has also increased funding for veterans programs by nearly $12 billion since January 2007 – representing the largest single increase in the 77-year history of the VA. This also represents the first time congress actually appropriated enough to fully fund the Independent Budget, a budget annually proposed by a coalition of Veterans service organizations. This additional funding for veterans programs is a giant step forward in ensuring that the VA will be better equipped to provide quality care to the 325,000 veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly those with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. This new funding has also assisted the VA in hiring 3,100 new claims processors to help reduce the embarrassing backlog of 400,000 claims at the VA. These initiatives help ensure that as a nation, we are honoring our veterans with the benefits they so rightful earned and deserve.
On this day of remembrance, let us pause to remember our freedoms, and those who gave their lives to protect them – including over 4,000 Americans who have lost their lives protecting us after 9-11. And let us recognize all of the men and women here today who have put on the uniform in service to our great nation.
May God bless you and those who have fallen, and may God continue to bless America.
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