Veterans Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on one final matter, on Monday, our Nation will observe Veterans Day. Some will gather here in our Nation's Capital at the proud monuments that pay enduring tribute to the service and sacrifice of generations of brave servicemembers. Many more will mark the day in ceremonies in small towns and cities across our country. And, of course, many Americans will have veterans to thank firsthand in their own families and neighborhoods.

My own father's Army service took him to the heart of the battle for Europe in 1945. His company sustained heavy losses. When he returned home, he traded his uniform for a briefcase and went back to work in our community.

Perhaps the only thing more remarkable than the heroic service that generations of veterans have offered at home and overseas is the fact that they come home and keep right on serving in new ways--as fathers and mothers, as skilled workers, as entrepreneurs, or as educators, and in every case, as a custodian of a unique part of our Nation's collective memory.

It is a cliche, but it is a cliche for good reason: the land of the free because of the brave.

The Senate will not be in session on Monday, as we honor Veterans Day, but I hope that each of our Members will be remembering and giving thanks for all veterans and for those brave men and women serving today. Their efforts are the reason why this Chamber exists, why it still stands, and why American self-government and American freedom endure.

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