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Veterans, We Thank You!

Today is Veterans Day and as you set aside the time to honor those who have worn the uniforms while serving our country at home and around the world, please take a moment to say thanks.

There are over 18 million veterans in the United States and we are proud to work, live and thrive along side each of you every day. We are blessed to work with veteran owned businesses and we want to thank you for all you’ve done for us and our beautiful country.

Our veterans have contributed so much value to communities across the US and abroad…it’s only right that we stop today and acknowledge our gratitude for each and everyone of of you. You gave so much for us, thank you.

We admire and appreciate how you, our veterans, model leadership values every day… every military service man and woman as well as their families.

We hope you’ll share in our appreciation and admiration for our veterans today. Feel free to share this post with those who have served our country.

 

In honor of Veterans Day, we’d like to take a moment to share some quotes from notable veterans…

“I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country.” – Nathan Hale, 1776, in his alleged last words prior to being executed by the British for being a spy.

“The unparalleled perseverance of the armies of the United States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle.” – General (and future President) George Washington, 1783, in his farewell orders to the Continental Army.

“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated [this ground], far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” – President Abraham Lincoln, 1863, in the Gettysburg Address.

“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S.; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.” – Civil rights leader and ex-slave Frederick Douglass, 1863, in remarks encouraging the enlistment of African-American soldiers during the Civil War.

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory.” – President Woodrow Wilson, 1919, in proclaiming Armistice Day (which would later become Veterans Day) on the anniversary of the end of World War I.

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” – Philosopher George Santayana, 1922, in his book, “Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies.” (This quote is often misattributed to Plato.)

“I saw your sons and your husbands, your brothers and your sweethearts. I saw how they worked, played, fought, and lived. I saw some of them die. I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate, and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny.” – Comedian Bob Hope, 1944, in “I Never Left Home,” his book about going on tour to entertain the troops, which he did in every U.S. conflict from World War II to the Persian Gulf War.

“The nicest veterans…the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated war the most, were the ones who’d really fought.” – Author Kurt Vonnegut, 1969, in “Slaughterhouse-Five,” his novel about the Allied firebombing of Dresden during World War II.

“Veterans know better than anyone else the price of freedom, for they’ve suffered the scars of war. We can offer them no better tribute than to protect what they have won for us.” – President Ronald Reagan, 1983, in a radio address to the nation.

“Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers most keenly. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war.” – Senator John McCain, 2008, in a foreign policy speech.

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou, writer and civil rights activist who received the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy in his 1963 Thanksgiving proclamation, issued before his death.

“Homeless and at-risk veterans need more than just shelter. We must give them the tools to empower themselves and reclaim the self-worth and dignity which comes from occupying a place in the American dream. It is a dream they fought so hard to defend for the rest of us.” – Homelessness advocate and film producer Maria Cuomo Cole, 2015, in an editorial pointing out that tens of thousands of vets are homeless.

“We cannot just keep worshipping veterans. They’re just people. They’re people who did a job. It’s a dirty, nasty, demanding job.” – Iraq War veteran and author Roy Scranton, 2016, in an interview with a reporter.