Memorial Day Message: A Time To Put Aside Partisanship

Statement

Memorial Day has always been a time of unity for our nation. It's a time when we put aside partisanship and politics, and come together to honor the memory of all those who have given what President Lincoln called "the last full measure of devotion" to America.

As we remember the fallen this weekend, we are also reminded of their brothers and sisters in arms, and the many millions of veterans who have given so selflessly in service to our nation.

Meeting our responsibility to them requires words as well as deeds.

As president, I will devote the necessary resources to our national defense so that we equip our armed forces properly -- with the latest and greatest equipment, but also with policies and strategies befitting the greatest nation on earth. I will ensure they never are sent into a fair fight, but rather are always equipped with the upper hand.

I will be as equally dedicated to their well-being after they return home. Unfortunately, the Department of Veterans Affairs is buckling under the weight of its own bureaucracy, slowed to tragic levels of unresponsiveness, and still feeling the effects of scandal. I believe they deserve better, and better is what they will get when I am President.

As we reflect this weekend on all those who have lost their lives in defense of freedom, let us reflect, too, on those who have returned home. Sacrifice does not end on the battlefield but continues on for a lifetime. To honor that sacrifice, we must come together to demand the dignity our Armed Forces and veterans deserve. And we remember with great admiration and pride, all those who have served our country and who we have lost -- who gave their lives to build the single greatest nation in all of human history."

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