FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                CONTACT: Joshua Gillespie
November 12, 2011                                                                                                        (317)848-0201

Congressman Burton Honors our Nation's Military and Veterans                               

INDIANAPOLIS, IN. - Rep. Dan Burton, (R-IN-05) issued the following statement in observance of Veterans Day:
                                
"First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank every individual that has, or is currently serving our country in the United States Military.  It is because of your shared resolve that the American people sleep peaceably in their homes at night.  In such complicated times, with so much strife in the world around us, it is more important than ever that we take this time to acknowledge those individuals who have stood and were counted on those dire occasions when their country called on them.  Since the birth of our great Nation, men and women have donned the uniforms of our great military.  They have been every day people who shed the normalcy of regular life to serve and protect the greatest Nation on earth.  They have fought and sacrificed for the very freedoms we hold so dear.
                               
"This past week I met two Hoosiers, Captain Derek Williams of Fort Wayne and Colonel Mary Bolk of Westfield, both currently serving with the U.S. Army Reserve in Kosovo.  In civilian life, Capt. Williams is a nurse practitioner and Colonel Bolk is the operations executive of the St. Vincent Health System. However,  when our country calls, folks like Derek and Mary, who are no different than you or I, drop everything to answer that call;  no matter where in the world it may take them.  It is this level of dedication that we honor today."
                                
"We must also thank the families of our brave veterans.  Too often, the sacrifices of our courageous fighting men and women's families are forgotten, understandably overshadowed by the heroic deeds of those they support. If not for you, and the love and support that you bestow on those who serve, we would be a nation without heroes."
                                
"From Bunker Hill to Fallujah to Kosovo, the dedicated men and women of our Armed Forces have sacrificed everything to go to foreign lands, not as conquerors, but as defenders protecting the virtues of liberty and freedom. 
May God bless our veterans and may He continue to bless America."

###