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November 10, 2004 Veterans
Day Program
In 1834, one of our great Statesmen, Daniel Webster, told the United States Senate, "God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it. Fortunately for our nation, there continues to exist a long, unbroken line of patriotic defenders who rise up from this land we call America and take their place on freedom's walls.” Our soldiers, firefighters, and police officers today are standing on freedom’s walls guarding and protecting our freedom. Freedom for which so many have made the ultimate sacrifice; giving their lives so that we, and all who come after us, may continue to enjoy the special things we have in our country. With our independence comes responsibility, responsibility to be good citizens and promote the values on which this country was founded. That includes even Americans your age. All through this program, we have sung songs about freedom, we have sung about our great flag, and we have shared in a moment of silence to remember all the men and women, past and present, serving because they are great patriots. Sometimes when we sing the Star Spangled Banner people get tears in their eyes. They are reminded of all the rich blessings we enjoy, and the important roles filled by the special people in our military, our fire departments, and police departments. These are not tears of sadness but rather tears of thanksgiving, remembering, and pride in being Americans. Today many of our dads and moms, uncles and aunts, nephews and nieces, and friends are far away in countries called Iraq and Afghanistan. My nephew Michael is in the Marine Corps and my daughter-in-law is in the Air Force. They are there because they understand it is required to defend our freedoms, even though they are sad to be away from their families. You are also serving an important role in this fight for freedom; bravely doing your job, being a good student and being a helper at home; not getting into trouble and helping others. You have all heard the word Hero; but have you ever thought about what it means to you? John F. Kennedy is my hero; he saved his shipmates when his boat, PT109, sunk during World War II. Maybe some of you have a parent who is serving to protect us; others of you may have friends or other family members who are serving. They are our Heroes because they are in our hearts, and because we know they would rather be with us, but instead are thousands of miles away working to keep us safe. There are other Heroes too; the Moms and Dads who are here at home taking care of you and your brothers and sisters. When you go home tonight tell your parents “Thank you for taking such good care of me, and I love you.” Maybe ask if you can help with something to make things a little easier for them. I consider you our “littlest heroes” because you make the sacrifices of adults meaningful. Adults need to be needed; kids need to be loved, so we each have a very special role to play in this great show called life. A long time ago, when my Mother was a little girl, many mothers, sisters, and aunts served our country at home during World War Many women worked in factories because most of the men had gone away to fight the war. They built planes and ships, made tires for jeeps and trucks, and many other things so the army would have what it needed to win. The families here at home were not always able to just go to the store and buy the things they needed either. They had to grow vegetable gardens for food, patch their winter coats and shoes, and only drive cars when there was no other way to get around; sometimes riding horses or in wagons pulled by horses and even oxen to save gasoline. Kids your age would collect metal and other things to help make equipment for the war effort. Then when the war was won, the soldiers came home and, our great country became the leader of the free world. Our country continues to be the leader of the free world today, and people from all over the world want to live here very much because we have the opportunity to be anything we want to be. We must always remember that all these people are our heroes. For without the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform and the families that love them we would not enjoy the great possibilities that exist for us now.Try hard to honor and respect what they have done for you.
When you practice this behavior others will follow and you will be doing something good to make America a better place . Thank you for being here and having this assembly for our special guests, our veterans; and thank you for being the wonderful kids that you are.
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